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A TEXT BOOK 



MASONIC JURISPRUDENCE; 

ILLUSTRATING THE 

WRITTEN AND UNWRITTEN LAWS 



OF 



FKEEMASONKY. 



ALBERT G. MACKBT, M. D., 

AUTHOR OF A "LEXICON OF FREEMASONRY," "BOOK OF THE CHAPTER," ETC. 



"I have applied myself, not to that which might seem most for the osten- 
tation of mine own wit or knowledge, but to that which may yield most use 
and profit to the student." — Lord Bacon 




NEW YORK: 

MACOY & SICKELS, PUBLISHERS, 

430 BROOME STREET 

18 65. 






Entereo according to act of Congress, in the year 1859, by 

ALBERT G. MACKEY, 

In the Clerk's office of the District Court of the United States, for the District 
of South Carolina, 



Ll 

l\1 



f.V: 



TO THE 

HON. JOHN L. LEWIS, Jr., 

GRAND- MASTER OF MASONS OF NEW YORK; 

| §n\mU ttt ma, 

AS TO ONE 

WHOSE LEGAL AND MASONIC ATTAINMENTS WILL ENABLE HE8 
TO CRITICALLY JUDGE OF ITS MERITS, 



WHOSE KINDNESS OF HEART WILL LEAD HIM TO 
GENEROUSLY PARDON ITS DEFECTS. 



PREFACE 



Four years ago I wrote, and soon after published, a 
treatise on the " Principles of Masonic Law," which 
was received by the Fraternity with a readiness that 
convinced me I had not miscalculated the necessity of 
such a work. In the composition of it I was entering 
upon a field of Masonic Literature which had, up to 
that time, been traversed by no other writer. There 
was, it is true, an abundance of authorities scattered 
over thousands of pages of Grand Lodge Proceedings, 
and contained in the obiter dicta of Grand Masters' 
Addresses, and the reports of Committees on Foreign 
Correspondence. But these authorities were often of 
a conflicting character, and as often were repugnant 
to my sense of justice, and to the views I had long 
entertained of the spirit of equity and reason which 
pervaded the Masonic Institution. Hence, while re- 
ceiving much information on various points of Masonic 
Law, from the writings of distinguished brethren, in 
different jurisdictions, I was repeatedly constrained to 
regret that there was no standard of authority by 
which I might be guided in doubtful cases, and that, 
with every disposition to stand upon the old ways — ■ 



Vlll PREFACE. 

stare super vias antiquas — I was unable to discover 
any safe beacon to guide me in my search after these 
ancient ways. I was, therefore, compelled, in most 
cases, to depend upon my own judgment, and to draw 
my conclusions as to what was Masonic Law, not from 
precedent, or usage, or authoritative statutes, but from 
the deductions of common sense and the analogies of 
the municipal and civil law, and the customs of other 
institutions. 

It is not, therefore, surprising that in this dearth of 
light — myself being the humble pioneer in the attempt 
to reduce the principles of Masonic Law to a sys- 
tematic science — with no books to guide — no prece- 
dents, in repeated instances, to direct me — I should, 
sometimes, have wandered from the true path, and 
erred in judgment. My errors were, it is true, con- 
scientiously committed. I gave all the talent, the 
experience and the legal skill that I had, to the inves- 
tigation of every question that lay before me — and 
my mistakes were those, in most cases, inseparable 
from the condition of the subject I was treating, and 
from the first attempt to give systematic form to a 
new science. 

But subsequent years of enlarged experience and 
more extensive research, directed with all the energy 
I possessed, to the correction of errors, and the review 
of former opinions, have led me to offer to the Masonic 
World that result of my labors which is embodied in 
the following pages. 



PREFACE. IS 

If I had been consulted on the subject, another edi- 
tion of the " Principles of Masonic Law," which was 
first published in .1856, would never have been given 
to the world ; at least, it should not have been sent 
forth without a diligent correction of those opinions 
in it, which I now believe to be erroneous. As it now 
appears, it is not, in every part, a just representation 
of my views. But the control of the book is not in 
my hands, and all that I can now do— and I ask this 
as an act of justice to myself — is to request my breth- 
ren, when they shall hereafter honor me by citing my 
opinions on Masonic Lav/, to look for those amended 
views, in this, my latest work, in which I have not felt 
any shame in correcting the immature theories, in 
many points, of my earlier labor. There is no dis- 
honor in acknowledging a mistake — there is much, in 
obstinately persisting in it. 

I do not suppose that I shall ever write another work 
on Masonic Law. Of all Masonic literature it is the 
most tedious in its details — in the task of composition, 
the most laborious ; and while I have sought, by the 
utmost care, to make the present treatise one worthy 
of the Fraternity, for whom I have written it, and to 
whom I am profoundly grateful for their uniform kind 
ness to me, I shall gladly turn, henceforward, to the 
more congenial employment of investigating the sym 
bols and the religious teachings of the Order. 

ALBERT G. MACKEY, M. D. 

Charleston . S. C, 
April, 1859. 
1* 



BOOK I. 



JFoanoaftons of JUBasonfr Slain. 



The Foundations of Masonic Law are to be found in the 
Landmarks, or Unwritten Law, and in the Ancient Consti- 
tutions, or the Written Law. These will, therefore, constitute 
the subject matter of the present book. 



THE FOUNDATIONS OF MASONIC LAW. 



CHAPTER I. 
Sfje SLaiitrmarrfcs, or tfje SIntoritten 2Lato 

Sir William Blackstone commences Ms Com- 
mentaries on the Laws of England with the succinct 
definition, that " law, in its most general and com- 
prehensive sense, signifies a rule of action, and is 
applied to all kinds of action, whether animate or 
inanimate, rational or irrational." It is in this 
sense that we speak of the laws of a country as 
being those rules, whether derived from positive 
enactment of the legislative authority, or from long- 
established custom, by which the conduct of its 
citizens or subjects is regulated. 

So too, societies, which are but empires, kingdoms, 
or republics in miniature, are also controlled by 
rules of action which are, to their respective mem- 
bers, as perfect laws as the statutes of the realm. 
And hence Freemasonry, as the most ancient and 
universal of all societies, is governed by its laws or 
rules of action, which either spring out of its 



14 THE LANDMARKS, OR 

organization, and are based upon its long-established 
customs and usages, or which are derived from the 
enactment of its superintending tribunals. 

This difference in the origin of the Laws of 
Masonry leads to a threefold division of them, as 
follows : 

1. Landmarks. 

2. General Regulations. 

3. Local Regulations. 

The writers on municipal law have made a divi- 
sion of all laws into unwritten and written — the 
" leges non-scriptze" and " leges scriptae."* Apply- 
ing these terms to the threefold division of Masonic 
Law, we should say that the unwritten laws or cus- 
toms of Masonry constitute its Landmarks, and that 
the written law is to be obtained in the regulations 
made by the supreme Masonic authority, and which 
are either general or local, as the authority which 
enacted them was either general or local in its 
character. 

* Blackstone defines the " unwritten laws" as those whose " original insti* 
tution and authority are not set down in writing as acts of parliament are, 
but receive their binding power and the force of laws by long and imme- 
morial usage, and by their universal reception throughout the kingdom." 
And he defines the " written laws" to be the " statutes, acts or edicts made 
by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal and 
commons in parliament assembled." — Comment. Irdrod., § 3. The civil law 
of the Romans made a similar distinction into the "jus scriptum" and the 
" jus non scriptum," the latter or unwritten law being also called the "jus 
moribus constitutum," or the law founded on " consuetudo inveterata," or 
immemorial custom. The Hebrews, too, had their double set of laws, the 
written, which are found in the Pentateuch, and the oral, said to have been 
given by God to Moses, to be by him orally communicated to Aaron aud the 
elders, and thence traditionally handed down to future generations. 



THE UNWRITTEN LAW. 15 

Of the nature of the Landmarks of Masonry, 
there has been some diversity of opinion among 
writers ;* but perhaps the safest method is to re- 
strict them to those ancient, and therefore universal, 
customs of the Order, which either gradually grew 
into operation as rules of action, or if at once 
enacted by any competent authority, were enacted 
at a period so remote, that no account of their ori- 
gin is to be found in the records of history. Both 
the enactors and the time of the "enactment have 
passed away from the record, and the Landmarks 
are therefore " of higher antiquity than memory or 
history can reach." 

The first requisite, therefore, of a custom or rule 
of action to constitute it a Landmark is, that it 
must have existed from " time whereof the memory 
of man runneth not to the contrary. "f Its antiquity 
is its essential element. Were it possible for all 
the Masonic authorities at the present day to unite 
in a universal congress, and with the most perfect 
unanimity to adopt any new regulation, although 

* " With respect to the Landmarks of Masonry, some restrict them to the 
0. B., signs, tokens and words. Others include the ceremonies of initiation, 
passing and raising; and the form, dimensions and supports ; the ground, 
situation and covering; the ornaments, furniture and jewels of a lodge, or 
their characteristic symbols. Some think that the order has no landmarks 
beyond its peculiar secrets." — Oliver, Bid. Symb. Mas. All these are 
loose and unsatisfactory definitions, excluding things that are essential, and 
admitting others that are non-essential. 

f- Blackstone says, (Introd. § 3) , " the goodness of a custom depends 
upon its having been ue-ed time out of mind: or in the solemnity of our legal 
phrase, time whereof tho memory of man runneth not to the contrary. This, 
it is, that gives it its weight and authority." All this may be applied in the 
precise terms + o the Landmarks of Freemasonry. 



16 THE LANDMARKS. OR 

such regulation would, so long as it remained unre 
pealed, be obligatory on the whole craft, yet ii 
would not be a landmark. It would have the 
character of universality, it is true, but it would be 
wanting in that of antiquity. 

Another peculiarity of these Landmarks of Ma- 
sonry is, that they are imrepealable. As the con- 
gress to which I have just alluded would not have 
the power to enact a Landmark, so neither would it 
have the prerogative of abolishing one. The Land- 
marks of the Order, like the laws of the Medes and 
the Persians, can suffer no change. What they 
were centuries ago, they still remain, and must 
so continue in force until Masonry itself shall cease 
to exist. 

It is fortunate for the stability of Masonry, that 
Landmarks so unchangeable should exist ; they stand 
in the way of innovations controlling and checking 
theni,* and if sometimes inadvertently' violated, are 
ever bringing the reflective and conscientious Mason 
back again under their influence, and preserving 
that general uniformity of character and design 
which constitutes the true universality of the insti- 
tution. But it is equally fortunate for the prosper- 
ity of the Order, and for its capacity of keeping up 
with the progress of the age, that these Landmarks 

* " The preservation of the ancient customs is a very considerable point 
in respect to manners. Since a corrupt people seldom perform any memor- 
able actions, seldom establish societies, build cities or enact laws; on the 
contrary, since most institutions are derived from people of simple or severe 
morals; to recall men to the ancient maxims is generally recalling them ta 
Virtue." — Montesquieu Spirit of haws, V. vii. 



THE UNWKITTEN LAW. 17 

are few in number. They are sufficiently numerous 
to act as bulwarks against innovation, but not suf- 
ficient to stand in the way of needful reform.* 

The Landmarks of Masonry, so far as I have 
been enabled to compute them, after the most care- 
ful examination, amount only to twenty-five in num- 
ber, and are as follows : 

aatitrmavit jFirst. 

The modes of Recognition are, of all the Land- 
marks, the most legitimate and unquestioned.? 
They admit of no variation ; and if ever they have 
suffered alteration or addition, the evil of such a 
violation of the ancient law has always made itself 
subsequently manifest. An admission of this is to 
be found in the proceedings of the late Masonic 
Congress at Paris, where a proposition was pre- 
sented to render these modes of recognition once 

* The fundamental principles of Freemasonry are, it is true, the same now 
that they were in the very beginning of the institution, and must always con- 
tinue the same. And yet there can be no doubt that, like every other science, 
Freemasonry is progressive in its character. It must of necessity be in- 
fluenced by the progress of the age. Even now it is in a transition state in 
this country, passing from the simply social condition which it presented less 
than half a century ago to the character of a scientific and philosophical asso- 
ciation. For proof of this, look to the Grand Lodge proceedings of 1815 
and of 1858. With the progress in literary improvement, the Landmarks 
do not interfere. 

t Smith says that at the institution of the order to each of the degrees, 
" a particular distinguishing test was adopted, which test, together with the 
explication, was accordingly settled and communicated to the fraternity 
previous to their dispersion, under a necessary and solemn injunction tG 
secrecy; and they have been most cautiously preserved and transmitted 
down to posterity by faithful brethren, ever since their emigration.'' — Uss 
and Abuse of Freemasonry, p. 46. 



18 THE LANDMARKS, OR 

more universal* — a proposition which never would 
have been necessary, if the integrity of this im- 
portant Landmark had been rigorously preserved. 

Sartitrmar& Secontr, 

The division of Symbolic Masonry into Three 
Degrees,? is a Landmark that has been better pre- 
served than almost any- other, although even here 
the mischievous spirit of innovation has left its 
traces, and by the disruption of its concluding por- 
tion from the third degree, t a want of uniformity 
has been created in respect to the final teaching of 
the Master's order ; and the Royal Arch of Eng- 
land, Scotland. Ireland, and America, and the " high 
degrees" of France and Germany, are all made to 
differ in the mode in which they lead the neophyte 

* That proposition is contained in the 7th resolution of the Congress, and 
is in these words : " Masters of lodges, in conferring the degree of Master 
Mason, should invest the candidate with the words, signs and grips of the 
Scottish and Modern rites/' If the Landmark had never been violated, the 
resolution would have been unnecessary. The symbolic degrees being the 
foundation of all masonry, should never have been permitted to differ in any 
of the rites. 

f Smith thus accounts for this Landmark: " Though there were no ap- 
prentices employed in the building of the temple, yet as the craftsmen were 
all intended to be promoted to the degree of Masters, after its dedication; 
and as these would receive a succession by receiving apprentices, who 
might themselves in due time become Masters, it was determined that the 
gradations in the science should consist in three distinct degrees." — Use 
and Abuse of Freemasonry, p. 46. Lond., 1783. 

X Dr. Oliver says that " the difference between the ancient and modern 
systems (that is, between^the ancient and modern Lodges in the 18th cen- 
tury) consisted solely in the mutilation of the third degree." See " Some 
Account of the Schism," &c, which contains a full relation of this disrup 
tion of the Royal Arch from the Master's degree. 



TBE UNWRITTEN LAW. 19 

to the great consummation of all symbolic Masonry.* 
In 1813, the Grand Lodge of England vindicated 
the ancient Landmark, by solemnly enacting that 
Ancient Craft Masonry consisted of the three de- 
grees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and 
Master Mason, including the Holy Royal Arch.t 
But the disruption has never been healed, and the 
Landmark, although acknowledged in its integrity 
by all, still continues to be violated. 

The Legend of the Third Degree is an import- 
ant Landmark, the integrity of which has been 
well preserved. J There is no rite of Masonry, 
practised in any country or language, in which the 
essential elements of this legend are not taught. 
The lectures may vary, and indeed are constantly 
changing, but the legend has ever remained sub- 
stantially the same. And it is necessary that it 

* Tho true icord, which is the symbol of divine truth, is the great ob- 
ject of Freemasonry. Any system without it must be imperfect; and there- 
fore in all the various rites, and I might almost say that their name was 
legion, this true word is sought for, but the search is in each, prosecuted 
in a different way, which really constitutes the essential difference of the 
masonic rites. 

f " It is declared and pronounced that pure ancient Masonry consists of 
three degrees, and no more; viz: tloseof the Entered Apprentice, the 
Fellow Craft and the Master Mason, including the Supreme Order of the 
Holy Royal Arch." — Articles of Union between the Two Grand Lodges 
of England, 1813. Art. ii. 

$ " After the union of speculative and operative Masonry, and when the 
temple of Solomon was completed, a legend of sublime and symbolic mean- 
ing was introduced into the system, which is still retained, and consequently 
Known to all Master Masons."— Oliver. Landmarks, vol. ii. p. 169. 



110 THE LANDMARKS, OR 

should be so, for the legend of the Temple Builder 
constitutes the very essence and identity of Masonry. 
Any rite which should exclude it, or materially alter 
it, would at once, by that exclusion or alteration, 
cease to be a Masonic rite. 

3Lantrntaiit jFourtfj, 

The Government of the Fraternity, by a pre- 
siding officer called a Grand Master, who is elected 
from the body of the craft, is a fourth Landmark of 
the Order.* Many persons ignorantly suppose that 
the election of the Grand Master is held in conse- 
quence of a law or regulation of the Grand Lodge. 
Such, however, is not the case.t The office is in- 
debted for its existence to a Landmark of the Order. 
Grand Masters are to be found in the records of the 
institution long before Grand Lodges were estab- 
lished ; and if the present system of legislative 
government by Grand Lodges were to be abolished, 
a Grand Master would still be necessary. In fact, 

* " No brother can be a Warden, until he has passed the part of a Fellow 
Craft; nor a Master, until he has acted as a Warden ; nor Grand Warden, 
until he has been Master of a lodge; nor Grand Master, unless he has been 
a Fellow Craft before his election." — Old Charges, iv. 

t The mode and time of his election is, in modern times, prescribed by 
a regulation of the Grand Lodge, it is true, but the office itself exists inde- 
pendently of any such regulation. When installed into office, it is not as the 
Grand Master of the Grand Lodge, but as the " Grand Master of Masous." — 
See Anderson's Constitutions, Id edit, passim. The earliest references to 
the office in English Masonry is in the time of the Emperor Carausins, in the 
third century, who, as Preston states, " granted the Masons a charter, and 
commandMl Albanus to preside over them in person as Grand Master."- - 
Preston, Illustrations, p. 125. Oliv. edit. 



THE UNWRITTEN LAW. 21 

although there has been a period within the records 
of history, and indeed of very recent date, when a 
Grand Lodge "was unknown, there never has been a 
time when the craft did not have their Grand 
Master.* 

Santrmarfc JFCftfK 

The Prerogative of the Grand Master to Pre- 
side over every assembly of the craft, wheresoever 
and whensoever held, is a fifth Landmark. It is in 
consequence of this law, derived from ancient usage, 
and not from any special enactment, that the Grand 
Master assumes the chair, or as it is called in Eng- 
land, " the throne," at every communication of the 
Grand Lodge ;t and that he is also entitled to pre- 
side at the communication of every Subordinate 
Lodge, where he may happen to be present.^: 

SLantrmarlt gsixtij. 

The Prerogative of the Grand Master to 
grant Dispensations for conferring degrees at ir- 
regular times, is another and a very important 

* " The Grand Master is not a creation of the General Regulations, the 
Ancient Charges or Written Constitutions. He existed when all those that 
we know anything of were made."— Com. of Correspond. G. L. N. Y., 
1851. 

f The Thirty-nine General Regulations, adopted in 1721, acknowledged 
this Landmark in the following words: " The Grand Lodge consists of and 
is formed by the Master and Wardens of all the regular particular Lodges 
on record, with the Grand Master at their head." — Twelfth Regulation. 

X Thus, in the First General Regulation: " The Grand Master, or his 
Deputy, hath authority and right, not only to be present in any true Lodge, 
but also to preside wheresoever he is, with the Master of the Lodge on hia 
left hand." 



22 THE LANDMARKS, OR 

Landmark. The statutory law of Masonry requires 
a -month, or other determinate period, to elapse 
between the presentation of a petition and the elec- 
tion of a candidate. But the Grand Master has the 
power to set aside or dispense with this probation, 
and to allow a candidate to be initiated at once. 
This prerogative he possessed in common with all 
Masters,* before the enactment of the law requiring 
a probation, and as no statute can impair his pre- 
rogative, he still retains the power, although the 
Masters of Lodges no longer possess it. 

3Lantrnrar!t Sebeittfj. 

The Prerogative of the Grand Master to 
give Dispensations for opening and holding Lodges, 
is another Landmark. He may grant, in virtue of 
this, to a sufficient number of Masons, the privilege 
of meeting together and conferring degrees. The 
Lodges thus established are called " Lodges under 
Dispensation.' 7 They are strictly creatures of the 
Grand Master, created by his authority, existing 
only during his will and pleasure, and liable at any 
moment to be dissolved at his command. They 
may be continued for a day, a month, or six months ; 
but whatever be the period of their existence, they 

* Preston says: " A sufficient number of Masons met together within a 
certain district, with the consent of the sheriff or chief magistrate of th<* 
place, were empowered at this time, (i.e. anterior to 1717) to make Masons 
and practice the rites of Masonry without warrant of constitution. Tii6 
privilege was inherent in them as individuals; and this privilege is still en- 
joyed by the two old Lodges now extant, which act by immemorial constito 
tion."— Illustrations, p. 182, ncie. 



THE UNWRITTEN LAW. * 23 

are indebted for that existence solely to the grace 
of the Grand Master.* 

fLcOttnuarfc Htgfjtfs. 

The Prerogative op the Grand Master to 
make Masons at sight, is a Landmark which is 
closely connected with the preceding one.f There 
has been much misapprehension in relation to this 
Landmark, which misapprehension has sometimes 
led to a denial of its existence in jurisdictions where 
the Grand Master was perhaps at the very time 
substantially exercising the prerogative, without the 
slightest remark or opposition.! It is not to be 

* If, according to the preceding note, the privilege of meeting and confer- 
ring the degrees was originally inherent in all Masons, as individuals, then 
it must also have been inherent in the Grand Master, and was therefore 
his prerogative, as well as that of every other member of the craft. But at 
the reorganization of the order in 1717, the Masons, as a body, surrendered 
tliis prerogative to the Grand Lodge; (see Preston, as above,) but they 
could not surrender the prerogative of the Grand Master, for it was not theirs 
to surrender. Consequently he still exercises it, and may assemble Masons 
together either personally or by proxy; in such cases, the Lodge meets, as 
of old, without a warrant of constitution; and to enable it to do so, the 
Grand Master issues his dispensation ; that is, he dispenses with the law 
enacted in 1717, which requires such warrant. 

f " We think this to be the rule, because we do not think the regulation 
of June 24th, 1717, restricting the future assemblage of Masons, except in 
the four old Lodges in London, to Lodges held under warrant, was intended 
to apply to the Grand Master or the Grand Lodge in session, but rather to 
the craft in other respects."'— Com. of Correspond. G. L. ofN. Y., 1851. Of 
course not; for if it did, supposing that it legally could, then the Grand Master 
would be deprived of the power of granting dispensations to open Lodges, for 
his prerogatives of making Masons at sight and of opening Lodges are 
founded on the oame principle. 

% That is, whenever the Grand Master granted h : 3 dfepemation to an 
unchartered Lodge :o dispense with the necessary probation, and was 



24 # THE LANDMARKS, OR 

supposed that the Grand Master can retire with a 
profane into a private room, and there, withou- 
assistance, confer the degrees of Freemasonry upon 
him. No such prerogative exists, and yet many be- 
lieve that this is the so much talked of right of 
" making Masons at sight/ 7 The real mode and the 
only mode of exercising the prerogative is this : The 
Grand Master summons to his assistance not less 
than six other Masons, convenes a Lodge, and with- 
out any previous probation, but an sight of the can- 
didate, confers the degrees upon him, after which 
he dissolves the Lodge, and dismisses the brethren. 
Lodges thus convened for special purposes are called 
" occasional lodges/ 7 This is the only way in which 
any Grand Master within the records of the insti- 
tution has ever been known to " make a Mason at 
sight. 77 The prerogative is dependent upon that of 
granting dispensations to open and hold Lodges. 
If the Grand Master has the power of granting to 
any other Mason the privilege of presiding over 
Lodges working by his dispensation, he may assume 
this privilege of presiding to himself ; and as no 
one can deny his right to 'revoke his dispensation 
granted to a number of brethren at a distance, and 
to dissolve the Lodge at his pleasure, it will scarcely 
be contended that he may not revoke his dispensa- 
tion for a Lodge over which he himself has been 
presiding, within a day, and dissolve the Lodge aa 
soon as the business for whbh he had assembled it 

present and presiding at the conferring rf the degrees, he was -virtual 
flaking a Mason at sight. 



THE UNWRITTEN LAW. 25 

is accomplished. The making of Masons at sight 
is only the conferring of the degrees by the Grand 
Master, at once, in an occasional Lodge," consti- 
tuted by his dispensing power for the purpose, and 
over which he presides in person. 

3Lantrmar& Nuttf). 

The Necessity for Masons to Congregate in 
Lodges is another Landmark.f It is not to be un- 
derstood by this that any ancient Landmark has 
directed that permanent organization of subordi- 
nate Lodges which constitutes one of the features 
of the Masonic system as it now prevails. But the 
Landmarks of the Order always prescribed that 
Masons should from time to time congregate to- 
gether, for the purpose of either operative or specu- 
lative labor, and that these congregations should be 
called Lodges. Formerly these were extemporary 
meetings called together for special purposes, and 
then dissolved, the brethren departing to meet again 
at other times and other places, according to the 
necessity of circumstances. But warrants of con- 
stitution, by-laws, permanent officers and annual 

* These occasional Lodges have been often called by the English Grand 
Masters since 1717, and frequent records of the fact are to be found in 
Anderson's Constitutions. Almost all of the princes of the royal family, 
when made Masons, were initiated, passed and raised at sight, and in 
occasional Lodges. 

f " A Lodge is a place where Masons assemble and work; hence that 
assembly or duly organized society of Masons is called a Lodge, and every 
brother ought to belong to one, and to be subject to its by-laws and the gene- 
ral regulations." — Old Charges, iii. 



26 THE LANDMARKS, OR 

arrears, are modern innovations wholly outside 
of the Landmarks, and dependent entirely on the 
special enactments of a comparatively recent period. 

2Lan&tmirft Snttfj, 

The Government op the Craft, when so con- 
gregated in a Lodge by a Master and two Wardens, 
is also a Landmark.* To show the influence of this 
ancient law, it may be observed by the way, that a 
congregation of Masons meeting together under 
any other government, as that for instance of a 
president and vice-president, or a chairman and sub- 
chairman, would not be recognized as a Lodge. 
The presence of a Master and two Wardens is as 
essential to the valid organization of a Lodge as a 
warrant of constitution is at the present day. The 
names, of course, vary in different languages, the 
Master, for instance, being called " Venerable" in 
French Masonry, and the Wardens " Surveillants," 
but the officers, their number,? prerogatives and 
duties, are everywhere identical. 

Hatrtrmarft Bicbentf), 

The Necessity that every Lodge, when Con- 

* The Old Charges allude to the antiquity of these officers in the follow- 
ing language : " In ancient times no Master or Fellow could be absent from 
the Lodge when warned to appear at it, without incurring a severe censure, 
until it appeared to the Master and Wardens that pure necessity hindered 
him." — Charges, iii. 

f The number, three, of these offices, is essential to the symbolism of the 
Order, because they refer, as corresponding officers always did, in the 
ancient Mysteries, to the sun at its rising, its meridian height, and its setting. 
So long as Masonry preserves its symbolic character, these officers must be 
retained, and their peculiar positions preserved. 



THE UNWRITTEN LAW. 27 

GREGATED, SHOULD BE DULY TlLED, IS ail important 

Landmark of the institution, which is never neg- 
lected. The necessity of this law arises from the 
esoteric character of Masonry. As a secret insti- 
tution, its portals must of course be guarded from 
the intrusion of the profane, and such a law must 
therefore always have been in force from the very 
beginning of the Order.* It is therefore properly 
classed among the most ancient Landmarks. The 
office of Tiler is wholly independent of any special 
enactment of Grand or Subordinate Lodges, al- 
though these may and do prescribe for him addi- 
tional duties, which vary in different jurisdictions. 
But the duty of guarding the door, and keeping off 
cowans and eavesdroppers, is an ancient one, which 
constitutes a Landmark for his government. 

The Right of evert Mason to be Represented 
in all general meetings of the craft, and to instruct 
his representatives, is a twelfth Landmark. f For- 
merly, these general meetings, which were usually 
held once a year, were called " General Assemblies," 

* The appointment of a Tiler is so evidently a Landmark, and the necessity 
of such an officer so apparent, from the very character of the Masonic insti- 
tution, that neither the Old Charges nor the General Regulations make any 
allusion to him, except that the latter refer to the qualifications of the Grand 
Tiler of the Grand Lodge. 

t This Landmark is recognized by the General Regulations in these words: 
s< The majority of every particular Lodge, when congregated, shall have the 
privilege of giving instructions to their Master and Wardens before the as- 
sembling of the Grand Chapter or Grand Lodge."— Gen. Reg., Art. x. 



28 THE LANDMARKS, OR 

and all the fraternity, even to the youngest Entered 
Apprentice, were permitted to be present. Now 
they are called " Grand Lodges," and only the Mas- 
ters and Wardens of the Subordinate Lodges are 
summoned. But this is simply as the representa- 
tives of their members. Originally, each Mason 
represented himself ; now he is represented by his 
officers. This was a concession granted by the fra- 
ternity about 1717, and of course does not affect the 
integrity of the Landmark, for the principle of 
representation is still preserved. The concession 
was only made for purposes of convenience.* 

3Lmtlmiar& STijtrtetntf)* 

The Right of every Mason to Appeal from the 
decision of his brethren in Lodge convened, to the 
Grand Lodge or General Assembly of Masons, is a 
Landmark highly essential to the preservation of 
justice, and the prevention of oppression. f A few 
modern Grand Lodges, in adopting a regulation 
that the decision of Subordinate Lodges, in cases 

* See a full relation of the history of this concession in Preston. (Oliver's 
edition, pp. 182-184.) The result of the concession is given in these words: 
" Matters being thus amicably adjusted, the brethren of the four old Lodges 
considered their attendance on the future communications of the society as 
unnecessary, and, therefore, like the other Lodges, trusted implicitly to their 
Master and Wardens, resting satisfied that no measure of importance would 
be adopted without their approbation."— IllusL, p. 183. 

t The Old Charges recognize this right of appeal in these words: " If 
any complaint be brought, the brother found guilty shall stand to the award 
and determination of the Lodge, who are the proper and competent judges 
of all such controversies, unless you carry it by appeal to the Grand Lodge.'' 
— Charge vi., 1. 



THE UNWRITTEN LAW. 29 

of expulsion, cannot be wholly set aside upon an ap- 
peal, have violated this unquestioned Landmark, as 
well as the principles of just government. 

SLtut&matlt jFourteentg)* 

The Eight of every Mason to Yisit and sit in 
every regular Lodge is an unquestionable Land- 
mark of the Order.* This is called " the right of 
visitation." This right of visitation has always 
been recognized as an inherent right, which inures 
to every Mason as he travels through the world. 
And this is because Lodges are justly considered as 
only divisions for convenience of the universal Ma- 
sonic family. This right may, of course, be im- 
paired or forfeited on special occasions by various 
circumstances ; but when admission is refused to a 
Mason in good standing, who knocks at the door of 
a Lodge as a visitor, it is to be expected that 
some good and sufficient reason shall be fur- 
nished for this violation, of what is in general 
a Masonic right, founded on the Landmarks of the 
Order. 



* The MS. in possession of the Lodge of Antiquity, and which contains 
charges written in the reign of James II., between 1685 and 1688, recog- 
nizes this right of visitation in the welcome which it orders every Mason 
to give to a strange brother: " Thirteenthly, that every Mason receive and 
cherish strange Fellows, when they come over the country, and set them on 
work, if they will work, as the manner is; that is to say, if the Mason have 
any mould stone in his place, he shall give him a mould stone, and set him 
on work; and if he have none, the Mason shall refresh him with money unto 
the next Lodge." All this implies the right to claim and the duty to extend 
hospitality to a visiting brother, 



30 THE LANDMARKS, OR 

Santrmarfe jFtfteatti). 
It is a Landmark of the Order, that no Visitor, 

UNKNOWN TO THE BRETHREN PRESENT, or to SOme 

one of them as a Mason, can enter a Lodge without 
first passing an examination according to ancient 
usage.* Of course, if the visitor is known to any 
brother present to be a Mason in good standing, 
and if that brother will vouch for his qualifications, 
the examination may be dispensed with, as the 
Landmark refers only to the cases of strangers, 
who are not to be recognized unless after strict 
trial, due examination, or lawful information. 

2lantrmarfe Sirtcnxt?). 

No Lodge can Interfere in the Business of 
another Lodge, nor give degrees to brethren who 
are members of other Loclges.t This is undoubtedly 
an ancient Landmark, founded on the great prin- 
ciples of courtesy and fraternal kindness, which are 
at the very foundation of our institution. It has 
been repeatedly recognized by subsequent statutory 
enactments of all Grand Lodges. 



* Reference is made to this important Landmark in the Old Charges,vi. G, 
in the directions for " behavior to a strange brother," where we find the fol- 
lowing language: " You are cautioned to examine him in such method as 
prudence shall direct you, that you may not be imposed upon by an ignorant 
pretender, whom you are to reject with contempt and derision, and beware 
of giving him any hints of knowledge." 

f Thus in the MS. charges of the Lodge of Antiquity: " That no Master 
or Fellow supplant others of their work; that is, if he hath taken a work 
or else stand master of any work, that he [i.e. any other,] shall not pui 
him out, unless he be unable of cunn'ng to make an end of his work." 



THE UNWRITTEN LAW. 31 

It is a Landmark that Every Freemason is Ame- 
nable to the Laws and Regulations of the Ma- 
sonic Jurisdiction in which lie resides, and this 
although he may not be a member of any Lodge.* 
Non-affiliation, which is, in fact, in itself a Masonic 
offence, does not exempt a Mason from Masonic 
jurisdiction. 

2.anfcm?irfc 32iQ$t?rnt§, 

Certain Qualifications of Candidates for In- 
itiation are derived from a Landmark of the Order.f 
These qualifications are that he shall be a man — 
shall be unmutilated, free born, and of mature age. J 
That is to say, a woman, a cripple, or a slave, or 
one born in slavery, is disqualified for initiation into 

* Tke same charges recognize this Landmark in these words : " Tenthly, 
that every Master and Fellow shall come to the assembly, if it be within fifty 
miles of him, if he have any warning. And if he have trespassed against 
the craft, to abide the award of Masters and Fellows." And again : 
" Eleventhly, that every Master Mason and Fellow that hath trespassed 
against the craft, shall stand to the correction of other Masters and Fellows 
to make him accord, and if he cannot accord, to go to the common law." 

f Thus in the same MS. charges these qualifications are referred to : 
" Thirdly, that he that be made, be able in all degrees ; that is, free born; 
of a good kindred, true, and no bondsman ; and that he have his right limbs 
as a man ought to have." And the Old Charges, collected in 1717, give the 
qualifications as follows : " The persons admitted members of a Lodge must 
be good and true men, free born and of mature and discreet age, no bond- 
men, no women, no immoral or scandalous men, but of good report." 

} In the regulations adopted by the General Assembly, 27th December,, 
1663, the age is placed at twenty-one years : " That no person be accepted 
unless he be twenty-one years old or more." — See Anderson, 2d edits 
p. 102. 



32 THE LANDMARKS, OR 

the rites of Masonry. Statutes, it is true, have 
from time to time been enacted, enforcing or ex- 
plaining these principles ; but the qualifications 
really arise from the very nature of the Masonic 
institution, and from its symbolic teachings, and 
have always existed as Landmarks. 

2,antrmar& 'NiixzUmtl). 

A Belief in the Existence of God as the Grand 
Architect of the universe, is one of the most im- 
portant Landmarks of the Order.* It has been al- 
ways deemed essential that a denial of the existence 
of a Supreme and Superintending Power, is an abso- 
lute disqualification for initiation. The annals of 
the Order never yet have furnished or could furnish 
an instance in which an avowed atheist was ever 
made a Mason. The very initiatory ceremonies of 
the first degree forbid and prevent the possibility 
of so monstrous an occurrence. 

SLamftmarfc Slyenttetf). 

Subsidiary to this belief in God, as a Landmark 
of the Order, is the Belief in a Resurrection to 
a Future Life.t This Landmark is not so posi- 

* It were needless to cite authorities on this point. We might say, that the 
very first of the Old Charges begins by declaring that "a Mason is. obliged 
by his tenure to obey the moral law ; and if he rightly understands the art, 
he will never be a stupid atheist, nor an irreligious libertine." 

f The whole scope and design of the third degree is, to teach the resurrec- 
tion from the dead, as that of the Royal Arch is to inculcate the rewards of a 
future life. K the doctrine of the resurrection were false, then would the 
ceremonies of the third degree be simply a farce ; and hence Hutchinson, 



THE UNWRITTEN LAW. 33 

ti vely impressed on the candidate by exact words as 
the preceding ; but the doctrine is taught by very 
plain implication, and runs through the whole sym- 
bolism of the Order. To believe in Masonry, and 
not to believe in a resurrection, would be an absurd 
anomaly, which could only be excused by the re- 
flection, that he who thus confounded his belief and 
his skepticism, was so ignorant of the meaning of 
both theories as to have no rational foundation for 
his knowledge of either. 

Slantrnrarfc Stoeut^jFfrst. 

It is a Landmark, that a " Book of the Law" 
shall constitute an indispensable part of the furni- 
ture of every Lodge.* I say advisedly, a Booh of 
the Law, because it is not absolutely required that 
everywhere the Old and New Testaments shall be 
used. The " Book of the Law" is that volume 
which, by the religion of the country, is believed to 
contain the revealed will of the Grand Architect of 
the universe. Hence, in all Lodges in Christian 
countries, the Book of the Law is composed of the 
Old and New Testaments ; in a country where 
Judaism was the prevailing faith, the Old Testa- 
ment alone would be sufficient ; and in Mohamme- 

who had profoundly studied its symbolism, says, that the Master Mason's 
order " testifies our faith concerning the resurrection of the body." — Spirit 
of Masom^y, p. 101. 

* The presence of a Book of the Law in a Lodge, as a part of its furniture, is 
strictly a ritualistic Landmark, and the authorities for it will be at once evi 
dent to every Mason. 

2* 



34 THE LANDMARKS, OR 

dan countries, and among Mohammedan Masons, 
the Koran might be substituted. Masonry does 
not attempt to interfere with the peculiar religious 
faith of its disciples, except so far as relates to the 
belief in the existence of God, and what necessarily 
results from that belief.* The Book of the Law is 
to the speculative Mason his spiritual Trestle-board ; 
without this he cannot labor ; whatever he believes 
to be the revealed will of the Grand Architect con- 
stitutes for him this spiritual Trestle-board, and 
must ever be before him in his hours of speculative 
labor, to be the rule and guide of his conduct. The 
Landmark, therefore, requires that a Book of the 
Law, a religious code of some kind, purporting to 
be an exemplar of the revealed will of God, shall 
form an essential part of the furniture of every 
Lodge. 

The Equality op all Masons is another Land- 
mark of the Order. t This equality has no refer- 
ence to any subversion of those gradations of rank 
which have been instituted by the usages of society.^ 

* On the subject of the religious, or rather the doctrinal, requirements 
of Masonry, the Old Charges utter the following explicit language : " Though 
in ancient times, Masons were charged in every country to be of the religion 
of that country or nation, whatever it was ; yet it is now thought expedient 
only to oblige them to that religion in which all men agree, leaving their 
particular opinions to themselves." — Charge i. 

t " Masons meet upon the level." — Ritual. 

% " Though all Masons are as brethren upon the same level, yet Masonry 
takes no honor from a man tha; he had before ; nay, rather it adds to his 



THE UNWRITTEN LAW. 35 

The monarch, the nobleman or the gentleman is en- 
titled to all the influence, and receives all the 
respect which rightly belong to his exalted position. 
But the doctrine of Masonic equality implies that, 
as children of one great Father, we meet in the 
Lodge upon the level — that on that level we are all 
traveling to one predestined goal — that in the Lodge 
genuine merit shall receive more respect than 
boundless wealth, and that virtue and knowledge 
alone should be the basis of all Masonic honors, and 
be rewarded with preferment.* When the labors 
of the Lodge are over, and the brethren have retired 
from their peaceful retreat, to mingle once more 
with the world, each will then again resume that 
social position, and exercise the privileges of that 
rank, to which the customs of society entitle him. 

The Secrecy of the Institution is another and 
a most important Landmark.f There is some diffi- 

honor, especially if he has deserved well of the brotherhood, who must 
give honor to whom it is due, and avoid ill manners."— Old Charges, 
vi.,3. 

* " All preferment among Masons is grounded upon real worth and per- 
sonal merit only." — Old Charges, iv. 

t There are abundant cautions in the Old Charges which recognize the 
existence of this Landmark, and the necessity of preserving it. Thus in the 
direction for the behavior of brethren who meet without strangers, it is said : 

" You will salute one another in a courteous manner freely giving 

mutual instruction as shall be thought expedient, without being overseen or 
overheard ;" and in the presence of strangers : " You shall be cautious in 
your words and carriage, that the most penetrating stranger shall not be 
able to discover or find out what is not proper to be intimated." 



36 *HE LANDMARKS, OR 

culty in precisely defining what is meant by a 
u secret society." If the term refers, as perhaps, 
in strictly logical language it should, to those asso- 
ciations whose designs are concealed from the pub- 
lic eye, and whose members are unknown, which 
produce their results in darkness, and whose opera- 
tions are carefully hidden from the public gaze — a 
definition which will be appropriate to many politi- 
cal clubs and revolutionary combinations in despotic 
countries, where reform, if it is at all to be effected, 
must be effected by stealth — then clearly Free- 
masonry is not a secret society. Its design is not 
only publicly proclaimed, but is vaunted by its dis- 
ciples as something to be venerated — its disciples 
are known, for its membership is considered an 
honor to be coveted — it works for a result of which 
it boasts — the civilization and refinement of man, 
the amelioration of his condition, and the reforma- 
tion of his manners. But if by a secret society is 
meant — and this is the most popular understanding 
of the term — a society in which there is a certain 
amount of knowledge, whether it be of methods of 
recognition, or of legendary and traditional learn- 
ing* which is imparted to those only who have 
passed through an established form of initiation, 
the form itself being also concealed or esoteric, 

* The Leland MS., containing the answers of the Masons to the questions 
of King Henry the Sixth, gives a long list of the secrets which the 
Masons " conceal and hide," the catalogue of secret sciences ending with 
"the nniversalle longage of Masonnes," that is, the peculiar modes of 
recognition. 



THE UNWRITTEN LAW. 37 

then in this sense is Freemasonry undoubtedly a 
secret society. Now this form of secrecy is a form 
inherent in it, existing with it from its very founda- 
tion, and secured to it by its ancient Landmarks. 
If divested of its secret character, it would lose its 
identity, and would cease to be Freemasonry.* 
Whatever objections may, therefore, be made to the 
institution, on account of its secrecy, and however 
much some unskillful brethren have been willing in 
times of trial, for the sake of expediency, to divest 
it of its secret character, it will be ever impossible 
to do so, even were the Landmark not standing be- 
fore us as an insurmountable obstacle ; because such 
change of its character would be social suicide, and 
the death of the Order would follow its legalized 
exposure. Freemasonry, as a secret association, has 
Hved unchanged for centuries — as an open society 
it would not last for as many years. 

The Foundation of a Speculative Science upon 
an Operative Art, and the symbolic use and ex- 
planation of the terms of that art, for purposes of 
religious or moral teaching, constitute another 
Landmark of the Order.f The Temple of Solomon 

* " Finally, keep sacred and inviolable the mysteries of the Order, as these 
are to distinguish you from the rest of the community, and mark your conse* 
quence among Masons." — Charges to an Ent Apprentice. 

t " We work in speculative Masonry, but our ancient brethren worked in 
both operative and speculative '—Bilual of F. 0. degree. 



38 THE LANDMARKS, OR 

was the cradle of the institution,* and, therefore, 
the reference to the operative Masonry, which con- 
structed that magnificent edifice, to the materials 
and implements which were employed in its con- 
struction, and to the artists who were engaged in 
the building, are all component and essential partr 
of the body of Freemasonry, which could not be 
subtracted from it without an entire destruction of 
the whole identity of the Order. Hence, all the 
comparatively modern rites of Masonry, however 
they may differ in other respects, religiously pre- 
serve this temple history and these operative ele- 
ments, as the substratum of all their modifications 
of the Masonic system. 

SLcratrmarfc Stents- jFtftij* 

The last and crowning Landmark of all is, that 
these Landmarks can never be Changed. f No- 
thing can be subtracted from them — nothing can be 
added to them — not the slightest modification can 
be made in them. As they were received from our 

* " As this temple (Solomon's) received the second race of servants of 
the true God, and as the true craftsmen were here proved in their work, 
we will crave your attention to the circumstances which are to be gathered 
from holy writ, and from historians, touching this structure, as an illustra- 
tion of those secrets in Masonry, which may appear to such of our brethren 
as are not learned in antiquity, dark or insignificant, unless they are proved 
from thence." — Hutchinson, Spirit of Masonry, p. 83. 

f Our " first most excellent Grand Master" has declared with a signifi- 
cance which Masons will understand — " Remove not the ancient Landmarks 
which thy fathers have set." Dr. Oliver remarks — " It is quite clear, how- 
ever, that the order against removing or altering the Landmarks was univer 
Bally observed hi all ages of the craft." — Diet of Sym. Mas. 



THE UNWRITTEN LAW. 39 

predecessors, we are bound by the most solemn obli- 
gations of duty to transmit them to our successors. 
Not one jot or one tittle of these unwritten laws can 
be repealed ; for in respect to them, we are not only 
willing, but compelled to adopt the language of the 
sturdy old barons of England — " Nolumus leges 
mutarL" 



CHAPTER IL 
^T f) c Written Sato, 

Next to the Unwritten Laws, or Landmarks of 
Masonry, comes its Written or statutory Laws. 
These are the " regulations," as they are usually 
called, which have been enacted from time to time 
by General Assemblies, Grand Lodges, or other su- 
preme authorities of the Order. They are in their 
character either general or local. 

The General Regulations are those that have been 
enacted by such bodies as had at the time universal 
jurisdiction over the craft. By the concurring con- 
sent of all Masonic jurists, it is agreed, that the 
regulations adopted previous to the year 1721, shall 
be considered as general in their nature ; because 
all the Masonic authorities established since that 
period, have derived their existence, either directly 
)r indirectly, from the Grand Lodge of England, 
which was organized in 1717, and hence the regula- 
tions adopted by that body, at the period of its 
organization, and immediately afterwards, or by its 
predecessors, the annual General Assemblies of the 
craft, were of universal authority at the time of 



THE WRITTEN LAW. 41 

their adoption. But soon after 1721, other Grand 
Lodges were established with equal powers to make 
regulations for their own jurisdictions, and hence 
the subsequent enactments of tiie Grand Lodge of 
England ceased to be of force in those new and in- 
dependent jurisdictions, and they therefore lost 
their character of universality. 

The Local Regulations are all those laws which 
have been since enacted by the Grand Lodge of 
England, and the Grand Lodges of other countries, 
and which are, of course, of authority only in the 
jurisdictions over which these Grand Lodges exer- 
cise control. In a general treatise on the laws of 
Masonry, these local regulations can of course find 
no place, except when referred to in illustration of 
any point of Masonic law. 

The code of General Regulations, or the universal 
Written Law of Masonry, is therefore contained in a 
comparatively small compass, and yet this code, 
with the Landmarks already recapitulated in the 
preceding chapter, constitute the foundation on 
which the whole superstructure of Masonic law is 
erected. From these Landmarks and general regu- 
lations, and from the dictates of reason and the 
suggestions of analogy and common sense, we are 
to deduce all those fundamental principles which 
make the science of Masonic law. 

It is necessary, therefore, that all those documents 
which contain the universal written laws of Masonry 
should be enumerated, as an appropriate introduc- 
tion to an accurate inquiry into the science whose 



42 THE WRITTEN LAW. 

principles constitute the subject matter of the pres< 
ent article. 

The following documents, and these only, have 
been admitted to contain the General Regulations 
and fundamental Constitutions of the Order, and 
are competent authority for reference in all obscure 
or disputed points of Masonic law : 

I. — THE OLD YORK CONSTITUTIONS OP 926. 

The " Old York Constitutions" were so called 
from the city of York, where they were enacted, 
and sometimes the " Gothic Constitutions," from the 
fact that they were written in the old Gothic 
character. Of these constitutions, which are the 
oldest now extant, the history is given in a record 
written in the reign of Edward IY., the substance 
of which is copied by Anderson. According to this 
record, we learn that Prince Edwin, having been 
taught Masonry, obtained from his brother, King 
Athelstan, a free charter, "for the Masons having a 
correction among themselves (as it was anciently 
expressed,) or a freedom and power to regulate 
themselves, to amend what might happen amiss, 
and to hold a yearly communication and general 
assembly. 

" Accordingly, Prince Edwin summoned all the 
Masons in the realm to meet him in a congregation 
at York, who came and composed a General Lodge, 
of which he was Grand Master ; and having brought 
with them all the writings and records extant, some 



THE WRITTEN LAW. 43 

in Greek, some in Latin, some in French and other 
languages, from the contents thereof that assembly 
did frame the Constitution and Charges of an Eng- 
lish Lodge, made a law to preserve and observe the 
same in all time coming, and ordained good pay for 
the working Masons,' ; &c* 

The Constitutions thus framed at the city of 
York, in the year 926, were seen, approved and con- 
firmed, as we are informed by Anderson,t in the 
reign of Henry VI., and were then recognized as 
the fundamental law of Masonry. The document 
containing them was lost for a long time, although, 
according to Oliver, copies are known to have been 
taken during the reign of Richard II. ; at the re- 
vival of Masonry, however, in 1717, not a transcript 
was to be found.f A copy was, however, discovered 
in 1838, by Mr. James Orchard Halliwell. in the 
British Museum, and published. Dr. Oliver has 
very clearly proved, in an article in the American 
Quarterly Review of Freemasonry, % that this ancient 
MS., published by Mr. Halliwell, is the original 
Constitutions, as adopted in 926 by the General 
Assembly which met at York. These Constitutions 
contain fifteen articles and fifteen points of Masonic 

* Anderson's Constitutions, 1st edit., p. 3-2. 

f Anderson, 2d edit, p. 111. 

+ "It eluded the search of those indefatigable brothers, Desaguliers and 
Anderson, at the revival of Masonry in the year of grace 1717, although 
they used all the means at their command, both in fois country and else- 
where for its discovery.'" — Oliver, on the Old York Constitutions, Amir. 
Quar. Rev. ofFreem., vol. i., p. 549. 

§ Amer. Quar. Rev. ofFreem., vol. i., p. 546. 



44 THE WRITTEN LAW. 

law, which are here given, not in the antiquated 
language in which they were written, and in which 
they are published in Halli well's book — a language 
which would be almost wholly unintelligible to the 
great mass of readers — but as they have been very 
correctly translated and condensed by Dr. Oliver, 
in the volume already referred to. Besides their 
importance, they will be read with interest as the 
oldest Masonic Constitutions extant. 

The Fifteen Articles. 

1. The Master must be steadfast, trusty and true ; provide 
victuals for his men, and pay their wages punctually.* 

2. Every Master shall attend the Grand Lodge when duly 
summoned, unless he have a good and reasonable excuse. 

3. No Master shall take an Apprentice for less than seven 
years.f 

4. The son of a bondman shall not be admitted as an Ap- 
prentice, lest, when he is introduced into the Lodge, any of 
the brethren should be offended. 

5. A candidate must be without blemish, and have the full 
and proper use of his limbs ; for a maimed man can do the 
craft no good.J 

6. The Master shall take especial care, in the admission of 
an Apprentice, that he do his lord no prejudice. 

* This reference to the wages of operative Masonry is still preserved in 
the formula of the Senior Warden's response in opening and closing a 
Lodge ; but the wages of a speculative Mason consist in a knowledge of 
truth. 

f Speculatively, no candidate shall pass to a higher degree, until he has 
served a " sufficient time" and made " due proficiency" in the preceding 
degree. 

% This is repeated in all subsequent regulations, and is still in foree 
notwithstanding some recent attempts to reduce its rigor. 



THE WRITTEN LAW. 45 

7. He shall harbor no thief or thief's retainer, lest the craft 
should come to shame. 

8. If he unknowingly employ an imperfect man, he shall 
discharge him from the work when his inability is dis- 
covered. * 

9. No Master shall undertake a work that he is not able 
to finish to his lord's profit and the credit of his Lodge. 

10. A brother shall not supplant his fellow in the work,f 
unless he be incapable of doing it himself; for then he may 
lawfully finish it, that pleasure and profit may be the mutual 
result. 

11. A Mason shall not be obliged to work after the sun 
has set in the west. 

12. Nor shall he decry the work of a brother or fellow, 
but shall deal honestly and truly by him, under a penalty of 
not less than ten pounds. 

13. The Master shall instruct his Apprentice faithfully, and 
make him a perfect workman. 

14. He shall teach him all the secrets of his trade. 

15. And shall guard him against the commission of per 
jury, and all other offences by which the craft may be 
brought to shame. 

The Fifteen Points. 

1. Every Mason shall cultivate brotherly love and the 
love of God, and frequent holy church. 

2. The workman shall labor diligently on work days, that 
he may deserve his holidays. 

* This is the foundation of that principle of law by which rv candidate 
may be stopped in any part of his progress — as, for instance, that an 
Entered Apprentice, being objected to, may be refused by the Lodge 
advancement to the Fellow Craft's degree. 

f That is, no Lodge shall interfere with the work of another Lodge. These 
afford illustrations of how the operative allusions in all the old Constitutions 
are to be interpreted in a speculative sense. 



46 THE WEITTEN LAW. 

3. Every Apprentice shall keep his Master's counsel, and 
not betray the secrets of his Lodge. 

4. No man shall be false to the craft, or entertain a preju- 
dice against his Master or Fellows. 

5. Every workman shall receive his wages meekly, and 
without scruple ; and should the Master think proper to dis- 
miss him from the work, he shall have due notice of the same 
before H. xii. 

6. If any dispute arise among the brethren, it shall be 
settled on a holiday, that the work be not neglected, and 
God's law fulfilled. 

7. No Mason shall debauch, or have carnal knowledge of 
the wife, daughter, or concubine of his Master or Fellows. 

8. He shall be true to his Master, and a just mediator in 
all disputes or quarrels. 

9. The Steward shall provide good cheer against the hour 
of refreshment, and each Fellow shall punctually defray his 
share of the reckoning, the Steward rendering a true and 
correct account. 

10. If a Mason live amiss, or slander his Brother, so as to 
bring the craft to shame, he shall have no further mainten- 
ance among the brethren, but shall be summoned to the next 
Grand Lodge ; and if he refuse to appear, he shall be 
expelled. 

11. If a Brother see his Fellow hewing a stone, and likely 
to spoil it by unskillful workmanship, he shall teach him to 
amend it, with fair words and brotherly speeches. 

12. The General Assembly, or Grand Lodge, shall consist 
of Masters and Fellows, Lords, Knights and Squires, Mayor 
and Sheriff, to make new laws, and to confirm old ones when 
necessary. 

13. Every Brother shall swear fealty, and if he violate his 
oath, he shall not be succored or assisted by any of the 
Fraternity. 

14. He shall make oath to keep secrets, to be steadfast 
and true to all the ordinances of the Grand Lodge, to the 



THE WRITTEN LAW. 47 

King and Holy Church, and to all the several Points herein 
specified. 

15. And if any Brother break his oath, he shall be com- 
mitted to prison, and forfeit his goods and chattels to the 
King. 

They conclude with an additional ordinance — alia 
ordinacio — which declares 

That a General Assembly shall be held every year, with 
the Grand Master at its head, to enforce these regulations, 
and to make new laws, when it may be expedient to do so, at 
which all the brethren are competent to be present ; and 
they must renew their 0. B. to keep these statutes and con- 
stitutions, which have been ordained by King Athelstan, and 
adopted by the Grand Lodge at York. And this Assembly 
further directs that, in all ages to come, the existing Grand 
Lodge shall petition the reigning monarch to confer his 
sanction on their proceedings. 

II. — THE CONSTITUTIONS OF EDWARD III. 

Anderson informs us,* on the authority of an old 
record, that in the reign of King Edward III., 
(that is, between the years 1327 and 1377), the 
Grand Master, with his Wardens, at the head of 
the Grand Lodge, with the consent of the lords of 
the realm, who were generally Freemasons, ordained 
the following Constitutions : 

1. That for the future, at the making or admission of a 
Brother, the constitutions and the charges shall be read. 

2. That Master Masons, or Masters of the work, shall he 

* Constitutions, 2d edit., p. 71. 



48 THE WRITTEN LAW. 

examined whether they be able of cunning to serve their 
respective lords, as well the highest as the lowest, to the 
honor and worship of the aforesaid art, and to the profit of 
their lords ; for they be their lords that employ them for 
their travel. 

3. That when the Master and Wardens meet in a Lodge, 
if need be, the Sheriff of the comity, or the Mayor of the 
city, or Alderman of the town, in which the congregation is 
held, should be made fellow and sociate to the Master, in 
help of him against rebels, and for upbearing the rights of 
the realm. 

4. That Entered Prentices at their making were charged 
not to be thieves, or thieves-maintainers ; that they should 
travel honestly for their pay, and love their Fellows as them- 
selves, and be true to the King of England, and to the realm, 
and to the Lodge. 

5. That at such congregations it shall be enquired, whether 
any Master or Fellow has broke any of the articles agreed 
to. And if the offender, being duly cited to appear, prove 
rebel, and will not attend, then the Lodge shall determine 
against him that he shall forswear (or renounce) his Masonry, 
and shall no more use this craft ; the which, if he presume 
for to do, the Sheriff of the county shall prison him, and take 
all his goods into the king's hands, till his grace be granted 
him an issue : for this cause principally have these congre- 
gations been ordained, that as well the lowest as the highest 
should be well and truly served in this art foresaid through- 
out all the kingdom of England. 

III. — REGULATIONS OF 16G3. 

In the reign of Charles I., Henry Jermyn, Earl 
of St. Albans, being chosen Grand Master, he held 
a General Assembly and Feast on St. John the 
Evangelist's day, 1663, when the following regula- 
tions were adopted : 



THE WRITTEN LAW. 49 

1. That no person, of what degree soever, be made or 
accepted a Freemason, unless in a regular Lodge, whereof 
one to be a Master or a Warden in that limit or division 
where such Lodge is kept, and another to be a craftsman in 
the trade of Freemasonry. 

2. That no person shall hereafter be accepted a Freemason 
but such as are of able body, honest parentage, good repu- 
tation, and an observer of the laws of the land. 

3. That no person hereafter who shall be accepted a Free- 
mason, shall be admitted into any Lodge or assembly, until 
he has brought a certificate of the time and place of his ac- 
ceptation from the Lodge that accepted him, unto the Master 
of that limit or division where such Lodge is kept ; and the 
said Master shall enroll the same in a roll of parchment, to 
be kept for that purpose, and shall give an account of all such 
acceptations at every General Assembly. 

4. That every person who is now a Freemason, shall bring 
to the Master a note of the time of his acceptation, to the end 
the same may be enrolled in such priority of place as the 
Brother deserves ; and that the whole company and Fellows 
may the better know each other. 

5. That for the future the said fraternity of Freemasons 
shall be regulated and governed by one Grand Master, and 
as many Wardens as the said society shall think fit to ap- 
point at every annual General Assembly. 

6. That no person shall be accepted, unless he be twenty- 
one years old or more. 

IT. — THE ANCIENT INSTALLATION CHARGES. 

These Charges appear from their style to be very 
old, although their date is uncertain. They were 
contained in a MS. written in the reign of James 
II., which extended from 1685 to 1688, which MS., 
according to Preston, was in possession of the Lodge 
of Antiquity in London. They are said to have 

3 



50 THE WRITTEN LAW. 

been used at the installation of the Master of a 
Lodge. Probably they are older than the year 
1686; but that date is often used as a means of 
reference. The Charges are as follows : 

1. That ye shall be true men to God and the holy church, 
and. to use no error or heresy by your understanding, and by 
wise men's teaching. 

2. That ye shall be true liegemen to the King of England, 
without treason or any falsehood, and that ye know no treason 
but ye shall give knowledge thereof to the king, or to his 
counsel ; also, ye shall be true one to another, that is to say, 
every Mason of the craft that is Mason allowed, ye shall do 
to him as ye would be done unto yourself. 

3. And ye shall keep truly all the counsel that ought to be 
kept in the way of Masonhood, and all the counsel of the 
Lodge or of the chamber. Also, that ye shall be no thief nor 
thieves to your knowledge free ; that ye shall be true to the 
king, lord or master that ye serve, and truly to see and work 
for his advantage. 

4. Ye shall call all Masons your Fellows, or your brethren, 
and no other names. 

5. Ye shall not take your Fellow's wife in villainy, nor de- 
flower his daughter or servant, nor put him to disworship. 

6. Ye shall truly pay for your meat or drink, -wheresoever 
ye go to table or board. Also, ye shall do no villainy there, 
whereby the craft or science may be slandered. 

Y. — THE ANCIENT CHARGES AT MAKINGS. 

The MS. in the archives of the Lodge of Antiquity, 
from which I have quoted the preceding charges, 
adds to them fifteen more, which are said to be 
" Charges single for Masons allowed or accepted, " 
that is to say, as is added at the end, " Charges and 



THE WRITTEN LAW. 51 

covenants to be read . at the mak- 
ing of a Freemason or Freemasons." They are as 
follows : 

1. That no Mason take on him no lord's work, nor any 
other man's, unless he know himself well able to perform the 
work, so that the craft have no slander. 

2. Also, that no Master take work but that he take reason- 
able pay for it ; so that the lord may be truly served, and the 
Master to live honestly, and to pay his Fellows truly. And 
that no Master or Fellow supplant others of their work ; that 
is to say, that if he hath taken a work, or else stand Master 
of any work, that he shall not put him out, unless he be un- 
able of cunning to make an end of his work. And no Master 
nor Fellow shall take no Apprentice for less than seven years. 
And that the Apprentice be free born, and of limbs whole as 
a man ought to be, and no bastard. And that no Master nor 
Fellow take no allowance to be made Mason without the as- 
sent of his Fellows, at the least six or seven. 

3. That he that be made be able in all degrees ; that is, 
free born, of a good kindred, true, and no bondsman, and 
that he have his right limbs as a man ought to have. 

4. That a Master take no Apprentice without he have occu- 
pation to occupy two or three Fellows at the least. 

5. That no Master or Fellow put away any lord's work to 
task that ought to be journeywork. 

6. That every Master give pay to his Fellows and servants 
as they may deserve, so that he be not defamed with false 
working. And that none slander another behind his back to 
make him lose his good name. 

%. That no Fellow hi the house or abroad, answer another 
ungodly or reproveably without a cause. 

8. That every Master Mason do reverence to his elder ; 
and that a Mason be no common player at the cards, dice or 
hazard ; or at any other unlawful plays, through the which 
the science and craft may be dishonored and slandered. 



52 THE WRITTEN LAW. 

9. That no Fellow go into the town by night, except he 
have a Fellow with him, who may bear him record that he 
was in an honest place. 

10. That every Master and Fellow shall come to the assem- 
bly, if it be within fifty miles of him, if he have any warning. 
And if he have trespassed against the craft, to abide the re- 
ward of Masters and Fellows. 

11. That every Master Mason and Fellow that hath tres- 
passed against the craft, shall stand to the correction of other 
Masters and Fellows to make him accord ; and if they cannot 
accord, to go to the common law. 

12. That a Master or Fellow make not a mould stone, 
square nor rule, to no lowen, nor let no loweu work work 
within their Lodge nor without, to mould stone. 

13. That every Mason receive and cherish strange Fellows, 
when they come over the country, and set them on work, if 
they will work, as the manner is ; that is to say, if the Mason 
have any mould stone in his place, he shall give him a mould 
stone, and set him on work ; and if he have none, the Mason 
shall refresh him with money imto the next Lodge. 

14. That every Mason shall truly serve his Master for 
his pay. 

15. That every Master shall truly make an end of his work, 
task or journey, whitherso it be. 

VI. — THE REGULATION OF 1703. 

I know not upon what authority Heboid places 
the date of this Regulation in 1703. He cannot, 
however, be far wrong, as it is certain that it was 
adopted at the beginning of the eighteenth Century, 
and during the latter part of the Grand Mastership 
of Sir Christopher Wren. The Regulation is an 
important one, and had an extensive influence on 
the subsequent character of the institution. Pres- 



THE WRITTEN LAW. 53 

ton* say s that it was adopted in consequence of the 
decadence of the Lodges, and for the purpose of in- 
creasing their members. It is in these words : 

That the privileges of Masonry should no longer be re- 
stricted to operative Masons, but extend to men of various 
professions, provided they were regularly approved and in- 
itiated into the Order.f 

VII. — THE REGULATION OF 1717. 

PrestonJ informs us that, on St. John the Baptist's 
day, 1717, at the establishment of the Grand Lodge 
of England by the four Lodges in London, the fol- 
lowing Regulation was adopted : 

That the privilege of assembling as Masons, which had 
been hitherto unlimited, should be vested in certain Lodges 
oi assemblies of Masons, convened in certain places ; and 
that every Lodge to be hereafter convened, except the four 
old Lodges at this time existing, should be legally authorized 
to act by a warrant from the Grand Master for the time being, 
granted to certain individuals by petition, with the consent 

* Illustrations of Masonry, p. 180. 

•f There is something in the phraseology of this regulation whic 11 makes it 
irreconcilable with the facts of history. It is well known that, L x m the 
earliest periods, a speculative and an operative element were combine 1 in 
the institution, and that many distinguished princes, noblemen, prelates and 
scholars, who were not operative Masons, held high rank and position in the 
Fraternity. The most of the craftsmen were, however, undoubtedly, opera- 
tive or stone masons. The object of this regulation, perhaps, really was, to 
give an entirely speculative character to the institution, and completely to 
divest it of its operative element. Although not precisely so worded, this 
seems to have been the universal interpretation, and such has actually teen 
the result. 

t Illustrations, p. 182. 



54 THE WRITTEN LAW. 

and approbation of the Grand Lodge in communication ; and 
that without such warrant, no Lodge should be hereafter 
deemed regular or constitutional.* 

Till. — THE REGULATION OF 1720. 

At a quarterly communication of the Grand 
Lodge of England, held on the 24th of June, 1720, 
the following new Regulation was adopted : 

In future, the new Grand Master shall be named and pro- 
posed to the Grand Lodge some time before the feast ; and, 
if approved and present, he shall be saluted as Grand Mas- 
ter elect ; and every Grand Master, when he is installed, 
shall have the sole power of appointing his Deputy and 
Wardens, according to ancient custom.f 

IX. — THE CHARGES APPROVED IN 1722. 

The Charges now to be inserted were presented to 
the Grand Lodge by Dr. Anderson and Dr. Desagu- 
liers, in 1721, and being approved by the Grand 
Lodge on the 25th of March, 1722, were subse- 
quently published in the first edition of the Book 
of Constitutions, with the following title : 

" The Charges of a Freemason, extracted from the Ancient 
Records of Lodges beyond sea, and of those in England, Scot- 

* Preston says that a sufficient number of Masons could, up to the time 
of the adoption of this regulation, meet together, open a Lodge, and make 
Masons, with the consent of the sheriff or chief magistrate of the place. 
The regulation here quoted, which abolished this usage, is the one under 
which the present system of permanent chartered Lodges is maintained. 

f This regulation has been very generally repealed by the Grand Lodges 
of the United States. In England, and in North Carolina and a very few 
other Grand Lodges in this country, it is still in force. But in the greater 
number of States, the office of Deputy, like that of Grand Master, is 
elective. 



THE WRITTEN LAW. 55 

land and Ireland, for the use of the Lodges in London : to be 
i-ead at the making of new Brethren, or when the Master 
shall order it." 

These Charges have always been held in the high- 
est veneration by the Fraternity, as embodying the 
most important points of the ancient Written as 
well as Unwritten Law of Masonry. 

I. CONCERNING GOD AND EELIGION. 

A Mason is obliged, by his tenure, to obey the moral law ;f 
and if he rightly understands the art, he will never be a 
stupid atheist, nor an irreligious libertine. But though in 
ancient times Masons were charged in every country to be 
of the religion of that country or nation, whatever it was, 
yet 'tis now thought more expedient only to oblige them to 

* Laurence Deeiiott, the Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of 
Ancient Masons, or Athol Grand Lodge, as it has been of late very usually 
called, published a very distorted copy of these Charges in the Ahiman 
Rezon,or Book of Constitutions, which he compiled for the use of the illegal 
Grand Lodge with which he was connected. This incorrect version of Der- 
rnott was subsequently copied by Smith, in his Ahiman Rezon of Pennsyl- 
vania ; by Dalcho, in that of South Carolina ; by Cole, in his Freemason's 
Library, and by several other American writers; and many of the wordy, but 
unnecessary, controversies on subjects of Masonic law, which a few years age 
were becoming the reproach of American Masonry, (although by the investi- 
gations which they have promoted, they have been of ultimate benefit,) arose 
from the fact that Dermott's copy of the Charges was repeatedly copied as 
good law, which, of course, it was not ; because the Grand Lodge to which he 
was attached was irregular, and because his edition of the Charges was 
altered from the original. It is a subject of curious speculation, whether 
Derinott did not derive his Charges from those published by Anderson in 
1733. The alterations made by Anderson in that year were never re- 
peated in subsequent editions. 

f Deriiott adds, " as a true Noachida," and he subsequently interpolates 
that Masons " all agree in the three great articles of Noah," which is incorrect, 
since the Precepts of Noah were seven. 



56 THE WRITTEN LAW. 

that religion in which all men agree, leaving their particular 
opinions to themselves ; that is, to be good men and true, or 
men of honour and honesty, by whatever denominations 01 
persuasions they may be distinguished ; whereby Masonry 
becomes the centre of union, and the means of conciliating 
true friendship among persons that must have remained at a 
perpetual distance. 

II. OF THE CIVIL MAGISTRATE, SUPREME AND SUBORDINATE. 

A Mason is a peaceable subject to the civil powers, wher- 
ever he resides or works, and is never to be concerned in 
plots and conspiracies against the peace and welfare of the 
nation, nor to behave himself undutifully to inferior magis- 
trates ; for as Masonry hath been always injured by war, 
bloodshed and confusion, so ancient kings and princes have 
been much disposed to encourage the craftsmen, because of 
their peaceableness and loyalty, whereby they practically 
answered the cavils of their adversaries, and promoted the 
honor of the Fraternity, who ever flourished in times of 
peace. So that if a Brother should be a rebel against the 
state, he is not to be countenanced in his rebellion, however 
he may be pitied as an unhappy man ; and, if convicted of 
no other crime, though the loyal brotherhood must and 
ought to disown his rebellion, and give no umbrage or 
ground of political jealousy to the government for the time 
being ; they cannot expel him from the Lodge, and his rela* 
tion to it remains indefeasible. 

m. OP LODGES. 

A Lodge is a place where Masons assemble and work ; 
hence that assembly, or duly organized society of Masons, is 
called a Lodge, and every Brother ought to belong to one 
and to be subject to its by-laws and the General Regulations 
It is either particular or general, and will be best understood 
by attending it, and by the regulations of the General a* 



THE WRITTEN LAW. 57 

Grand Lodge hereunto annexed. In ancient times, no Master 
or Fellow could be absent from it, especially when warned 
to appear at it, without incurring a severe censure, until it 
appeared to the Master and Wardens that pure necessity 
hindered him. 

The persons admitted members of a Lodge must be good 
and -true men, free born, and of mature and discreet age, no 
bondmen, no women, no immoral or scandalous men, but of 
good report.* 

IV. OF MASTERS, WARDENS, FELLOWS AND APPRENTICES.f 

All preferment among Masons is grounded upon real worth 
and personal merit only; that so the lords may be well 
served, the brethren not put to shame, nor the royal craft 
despised ; therefore no Master or Warden is chosen by seni- 
ority, but for his merit. It is impossible to describe these 
things in writing, and every Brother must attend in his place, 
and learn them in a way peculiar to this Fraternity : only 
candidates may know that no Master should take an Appren- 
tice unless he has sufficient imployment for him, and unless 
he be a perfect youth, having no maim or defect in his body, 
that may render him uncapable of learning the art, of serving 
his Master's lord, and of being made a Brother, and then a 
Fellow Craft in due time, even after he has served such a 
term of years as the custom of the country directs ; and that 
he should be descended of honest parents ; that so, when 
otherwise qualified, he may arrive to the honour of being the 

* Dermott alters this clause respecting the qualifications, &c, so as to read 
thus: " The men made Masons must be free born (or no bondmen), of ma- 
ture age, and of good report ; hale and sound, not deformed or dismembered 
at the time of their making ; but no woman, no eunuch." 

t Dermott makes very considerable and important alterations in this 
Charge, as, for instance, he brings the Master Masons forward as constituting 
the great body of the craft ; whereas, it will be perceived that Entered Ap« 
prentices and Fellow Crafts are alone spoken of in that capacity in the authen 
tic Charges. But Anderson made the same change in his edition of 1738. 

3* 



58 THE WRITTEN LAW. 

Warden, and then the Master of the Lodge, the Grand War- 
den, and at length the Grand Master of all the Lodges, accord- 
ins to his merit. 

No Brother can be a Warden until he has passed the part 
of a Fellow Craft ;* nor a Master, until he has acted as a 
Warden, nor Grand Warden until he has been Master of a 
Lodge, nor Grand Master, unless he has been a Fellow Craftf 
before his election, who is also to be nobly born, or a gentle- 
man of the best fashion, or some eminent scholar, or some 
curious architect or other artist, descended of honest parents, 
and who is of singular great merit in the opinion of the 
Lodges. And for the beth* and easier, and more honourable 
discharge of his office, the Grand Master has a power to 
chuse his own Deputy Grand Master, who must be then, or 
must have been formerly, the Master of a particular Lodge, 
and has the privilege of acting whatever the Grand Master, 
his principal, should act, unless the said principal be present, 
or interpose his authority by a letter. 

These rulers and governors, supreme and subordinate, of 
the ancient Lodge, are to be obeyed in their respective 
stations by all the brethren, according to the Old Charges and 
Regulations, with all humility, reverence, love, and alacrity. 

V. OF THE MANAGEMENT OF THE CRAFT IN WORKING. 

All Masons shall work honestly on working days, that they 
may live creditably on holy days ; and the time appointed 

* Debmott says : " The Wardens are chosen from among the Master 
Masons." 

f Dermott says that " none can act as Grand Master who has not acted 
as the Master of a particular Lodge." This, it is true, is the modern 
usage ; but the Old Charges make no such requisition, as it was alwaj's 
competent for the Grand Master to be chosen from the body of the craft. 
This is an instance in which in this country the authority of Dermott has 
exercised an influence paramount to that of the original constitutions. A 
large number of the Lodges in America derived their warrants from the 
Athol Grand Lodge. There is no such provision in the modern constitution 
of the Grand Lodge of England. 



THE WEITTEN LAW. 59 

by tlie law of the land, or confirmed by custom, shall be 
observed. 

The most expert of the Fellow Craftsmen shall be chosen 
or appointed the Master or overseer of the lord's work:* 
who is to be called Master by those that work under him. 
The craftsmen are to avoid all ill language, and to call each 
other by no disobliging name, but Brother or Fellow ; and 
to behave themselves courteously within and without the 
Lodge. 

The Master, knowing himself to be able of cunning, shall 
undertake the lord's work as reasonably as possible, and 
truly dispend his goods as if they were his own ; nor to give 
more wages to any Brother or Apprentice than he really may 
deserve. 

Both the Master and the Mason receiving their wages 
justly, shall be faithful to the lord, and honestly finish their 
work, whether task or journey ; nor put the work to task that 
hath been acccustomed to journey. 

None shall discover envy at the prosperity of a Brother, 
nor supplant him, or put him out of his work, if he be 
capable to finish the same ; for no man can finish another's 
work so much to the lord's profit, unless he be thoroughly 
acquainted with the designs and draughts of him that 
began it. 

When a Fellow Craftsman is chosen TVarden of the work 
under the Master, he shall be true both to Master and Fel- 
lows ; shall carefully oversee the work in the Master's 
absence to the lord's profit; and his brethren shall obey 
him. 

All Masons employed shall meekly receive their wages 
without murmuring or mutiny, and not desert the Master till 
the work is finished. 

* Der5IOtt says : " A Master Mason only must be the surveyor or 
Master of the work." Here again the alteration of Dermott has, in modern 
usage, superseded the original regulation. Fellcw Crafts are not now eligible 
to office. 



60 THE WRITTEN LAW. 

A younger Brother shall be instructed in working, to pre- 
vent spoiling the materials for want of judgment, and for in- 
creasing and continuing of brotherly love. 

All the tools used in working shall be approved by the 
Grand Lodge. 

No labourer shall be employed in the proper work of Ma- 
sonry ; nor shall Free Masons work with those that are not 
free, without an urgent necessity ; nor shall they teach la- 
bourers and unaccepted Masons, as they should teach a 
Brother or Fellow. 

VI. OF BEHAVIOUR, VIZ : 

1. In the Lodge while Constituted. 

You are not to hold private committees, or separate con- 
versation, without leave from the Master, nor to talk of any 
thing impertinent or unseemly, nor interrupt the Master or 
Wardens, or any Brother speaking to the Master ; nor be- 
have yourself ludicrously or jestingly while the Lodge is 
engaged in what is serious and solemn ; nor use any unbe- 
coming language upon any pretence whatsoever ; but to pay 
due reverence to your Master, Wardens and Fellows, and 
put them to worship. 

If any complaint be brought, the Brother found guilty 
shall stand to the award and determination of the Lodge, 
who are the proper and competent judges of all such contro- 
versies, (unless you carry it by appeal to the Grand Lodge,) 
and to whom they ought to be referred, unless a lord's work 
be hindered the meanwhile, in which case a particular refer- 
ence may be made ; but you must never go to law about 
what concerneth Masonry, without an absolute necessity ap- 
parent to the Lodge. 

2. Behaviour after the Lodge is over and the Brethren not gone. 

You may enjoy yourself with innocent mirth, treating one 
another according to ability, but avoiding all excess, or fore* 



THE WRITTEN LAW. 61 

hig any Brother to eat or drink beyond his inclination, or 
hindering him from going when his occasions call him, or 
doing or saying any thing offensive, or that may forbid an 
easy and free conversation ; for that would blast our har- 
mony and defeat our laudable purposes. Therefore no 
private piques or quarrels must be brought within the door 
of the Lodge, far less any quarrels about religion, or nations, 
or state policy, we being only, as Masons, of the Catholick 
religion above-mentioned ; we are also of all nations, tongues, 
kindreds, and languages, and are resolved against all poli- 
ticks, as what never yet conduced to the welfare of the 
Lodge, nor ever will. This Charge has been always strictly 
enjoined and observed ; but especially ever since the Refor- 
mation in Britain, or the dissent and secession of these 
nations from the communion of Rome. 

3. Behaviour when Brethren meet without Strangers, but not in a 
Lodge formed. 

You are to salute one another in a courteous manner, as 
you Avill be instructed, calling each other Brother, freely giv- 
ing mutual instruction as shall be thought expedient, without 
being overseen or overheard, and without encroaching upon 
each other, or derogating from that respect which is due to 
any Brother, were he not a Mason ; for though all Masons 
are as brethren upon the same level, yet Masonry takes no 
honour from a man that he had before ; nay, rather it adds 
to his honour, especially if he has deserved well of the 
Brotherhood, who must give honour to whom it is due, and 
avoid ill manners. 

4. Behaviour in Presence of Strangers not Masons. 

jTou shall be cautious in your words and carriage, that the 
most penetrating stranger shall not be able to discover or 
find out what is not proper to be intimated ; and sometimes 
you shall divert a discourse and manage it prudently for the 
honour of the worshipful Frxternity. 



62 THE WRITTEN LAW. 

5. Behaviour at Home, and in your Neighbourlwod. 

You are to act as becomes a moral and wise man ; particni 
larly not to let your family, friends and neighbours know the 
concerns of the Lodge, &c., but wisely to consult your own 
honour and that of the ancient Brotherhood, for reasons not 
to be mentioned here. You must also consult your health, 
by not continuing together too late, or too long from home, 
after Lodge hours are past ; and by avoiding of gluttony or 
drunkenness, that your families be not neglected or injured, 
nor you disabled from working. 

6. Beliaviour towards a Strange Brother. 

You are cautiously to examine him, in such a method as 
prudence shall direct you, that you may not be imposed upon 
by an ignorant false pretender, whom you are to reject with 
contempt and derision, and beware of giving him any hints 
of knowledge. 

But if you discover him to be a true and genuine Brother, 
you are to respect him accordingly ; and if he is in want, 
you must relieve him if you can, or else direct him how 
lie may be relieved. You must employ him some days, or 
else recommend him to be employed. But you are not 
charged to do beyond your ability, only to prefer a poor 
Brother that is a good man and true, before any other poor 
people in the same circumstances. 

Finally, all these Charges you are to observe, and also 
those that shall be communicated to you in another way ; 
cultivating brotherly love, the foundation and cape-stone, the 
cement and glory of this ancient Fraternity ; avoiding all 
wrangling and quarreling, all slander and backbiting, nor 
permitting others to slander any honest Brother, but defend- 
ing his character, and doing him all good offices, as far as is 
consistent with your honour and safety, and no farther. 
And if any of them do you injury, you must apply to your 
own or his Lodge, and from thence you may appeal to the 



THE WRITTEN LAW. 63 

Grand Lodge at the Quarterly Communication, and from 
thence to the Annual Grand Lodge, as has been the ancient 
laudable conduct of our forefathers in every nation ; never 
taking a legal course but when the case camiot be otherwise 
decided, and patiently listening to the honest and friendly 
advice of Master and Fellows, when they would prevent 
you going to law with strangers, or would excite you to put 
a speedy period to all lawsuits, that so you may mind the 
affair of Masonry with the more alacrity and success ; but 
with respect to Brothers or Fellows at law, the Master and 
Brethren should kindly offer their mediation, which ought 
to be thankfully submitted to by the contending^ brethren; 
and if that submission is impracticable, they must, however, 
carry on their process or lawsuit without wrath and rancor, 
(not in the common way) saying or doing nothing which 
may hinder brotherly love, and good offices to be renewed 
and continued ; that all may see the benign influence of Ma- 
sonry, as all true Masons have done from the beginning of 
the world, and will do to the end of time. 

X. — THE GENERAL REGULATIONS OF 1721. 

The most complete history that could be given 
of these General Regulations, is to be found in the 
title which precedes them in the first edition of 
Anderson's Constitutions, and which is contained 
in these words : 

General Regulations, first compiled by Mr. George Payne, 
anno 1720, when he was Grand Master, and approved by the 
Grand Lodge on St. John Baptist's day, anno 1721, at Station- 
er's Hall, London, when the Most Noble Prince John, Duke 
of Montagu, was unanimously chosen our Grand Master for 
the year ensuing ; who chose John Beal, m. d., his Deputy 
Grand Master ; and Mr. Josiah Yilleneau and Mr. Thomas 
Morris, Jun., were chosen by the Lodge Grand Wardens 



64 TRE WRITTEN LAW. 

And now, by the command of our said Right Worshipful 
Grand Master Montagu, the author of this book has com- 
pared them with, and reduced them to the ancient records 
and immemorial usages of the Fraternity, and digested them 
into this new method, with several proper explications, for 
the use of the Lodges in and about London and West- 
minster. 

In subsequent editions of the Book of Consti- 
tutions, these Eegulations were altered or amended 
in various points; but the original thirty-nine, as 
published in the first edition, are all that are now 
considered as entitled to any authority as part of 
the universal Written Law of Masonry. Until 
lately, however, it was difficult to obtain access to 
the first edition of the Book of Constitutions, pre- 
pared for and by order of the Grand Lodge, by the 
Rev. James Anderson, which had been long out of 
print, and therefore rare, and consequently many 
erroneous deductions were made, and false prin- 
ciples laid down in Masonic law, from the fact that 
the references were made to the new Regulations 
contained in the subsequent editions. Another fer- 
tile source of error was. that Laurence Dermott,in 
his "Ahiman Rezon, or Help to a Brother," published 
these " Old Regulations," and that in a mutilated 
form, with a corresponding column of the "New 
Regulations," which are, of course, without author- 
ity, and which, nevertheless, have been sometimes 
ignorantly quoted as Masonic law. I shall, as in 
the instance of the " Charges," occasionally call at- 



THE WRITTEN" LAW. 6i 

tention to these alterations and amendments of the 
Old Regulations, just as the chart-makers lay 
down + he location of the rocks and breakers which 
the ship is to avoid.* 

I. The Grand Master or his Deputy hath authority and 
right, not only to be present in any true Lodge, but also to 
preside wherever he is, with the Master of the Lodge on his 
left hand, and to order his Grand Wardens to attend him, 
who are not to act in any particular Lodges as Wardens, but 
in his presence, and at his command ; because there the 
Grand Master may command the Wardens of that Lodge, or 
any other brethren he pleaseth, to attend and act as his 
Wardens pro tempore.^ 

II. The Master of a particular Lodge has the right and 
authority of congregating the members of his Lodge into a 
Chapter at pleasure, upon any emergency or occurrence, as 
well as to appoint the time and place of their usual forming ; 
and in case of sickness, death, or necessary absence of the 
Master, the Senior Warden shall act as Master pro tempore, 

* The new Regulations, some of which were adopted as early as 1723, were 
wanting in this ingredient, that they were not adopted according to the pro- 
visions of the 39th Regulation of 1721, viz : That they should be offered at 
the Grand Feast to the consideration of all the brethren, even the youngest 
Apprentice. Seeing this difficulty, the Grand Lodge, in 1723, adopted a 
new Regulation, declaring that " any Grand Lodge duly met has a power to 
amend or explain any of the printed Regulations in the Book of Constitutions, 
while they break not in upon the ancient rules of the Fraternity." But I 
doubt the constitutionality of any alteration, except at an Annual Commu- 
nication, which has now taken the place of and represents the Grand Feast. 
At all events, this has been the modern usage, and accordingly, many of these 
General Regulations have been altered or amended by successive Grand 
Lodges. 

t That is, says the new Regulation, only when the Grand Wardens ara 
absent ; for the Grand Master cannot deprive them of their office without 
showing cause. Such, by universal consent, has been the subsequent inter 
pretation of this Regulation. 



68 THE WRITTEN LAW. 

if no Brother is present who has been Master of that Lodge 
before ; for in that case the absent Master's authority re- 
verts to the last Master then present; though he cannot act 
until the said Senior Warden has once congregated the Lodge, 
or in his absence the Junior Warden.* 

III. The Master of each particular Lodge, or one of the 
Wardens, or some other Brother by his order, shall keep a 
book containing their by-laws, the names of their members, 
with a list of all the Lodges in town, and the usual times 
and places of their forming, and all their transactions that 
are proper to be written. 

IV. No Lodge shall make more than live new brethren at 
one time, nor any man under the age of twenty-five, who 
must be also his own master, unless by a dispensation from 
the Grand Master or his Deputy. 

V. No man can be made or admitted a member of a par- 
ticular Lodge without previous notice one month before 
given to the said Lodge, in order to make due enquiry into 
the reputation and capacity of the candidate, unless by the 
dispensation aforesaid. 

VI. But no man can be entered a Brother in any particu- 
lar Lodge, or admitted to be a member thereof, without the 
unanimous consent of all the members of that Lodgef then 
present when the candidate is proposed, and their consent 
is formally asked by the Master ; and they are to signify 
their consent or dissent in their own prudent way, either 
virtually or in form, but with unanimity ; nor is this inherent 
privilege subject to a dispensation ; because the members 

* There is a palpable contradiction in the terms of this Regulation, which 
caused a new Regulation to be adopted in 1723, which declares that the au- 
thority of the Master shall, in such cases, devolve on the Senior Warden, and 
such is now the general sense of the Fraternity. 

f A subsequent Regulation allowed the Lodges to admit a member, if not 
above three ballots were against him. But in this country this has nevei 
been considered as good law, and the rule of unanimity has been very strictlj 
enforced. 



THE WRITTEN LAW. 67 

of a particular Lodge are the best judges of it ; and if a frao 
tious member should be imposed on them, it might spoil 
their harmony, or hinder their freedom ; or even break and 
disperse the Lodge, which ought to be avoided by all good 
and true brethren. 

VII. Every new Brother at his making is decently to 
clothe the Lodge, that is, all the brethren present, and to 
deposit something for the relief of indigent and decayed 
brethren, as the candidate shall think fit to bestow, over and 
above the small allowance stated by the by-laws of that par- 
ticular Lodge ; which charity shall be lodged with the Mas- 
ter or Wardens, or the cashier, if the members think fit to 
choose one. 

And the candidate shall also solemnly promise to submit 
to the Constitutions, the Charges and Regulations, and to 
such other good usages as shall be intimated to them in time 
and place convenient. 

VIII. No set or number of brethren shall withdraw or 
separate themselves from the Lodge in which they were 
made brethren, or were afterwards - admitted members, un- 
less the Lodge becomes too numerous ; nor even then, with- 
out a dispensation from the Grand Master or his Deputy ; 
and when they are thus separated, they must either imme- 
diately join themselves to such other Lodge as they shall 
like best, with the unanimous consent of that other Lodge to 
which they go (as above regulated,) or else they must obtain 
the Grand Master's warrant to join in forming a new Lodge. 
If any set or number of Masons shall take upon themselves 
to form a Lodge without the Grand Master's warrant, the 
regular Lodges are not to countenance them, nor own them 
as fair brethren an(l duly formed, nor approve of their acts 
and deeds ; but must treat them as rebels, until they humble 
themselves, as the Grand Master shall in his prudence direct, 
and until he approve of them by his warrant, which must be 
signified to the other Lodges, as the custom is when a new 



68 THE WRITTEN LAW, 

IX. But if any Brother so far misbehave himself as to 
render his Lodge uneasy, he shall be twice duly admonished 
by the Master or Wardens in a formed Lodge ; and if he will 
not refrain his imprudence, and obediently submit to the 
advice of the brethren, and reform what gives them offence, 
he shall be dealt with according to the by-laws of that par- 
ticular Lodge, or else in such a manner as the Quarterly Com- 
munication shall in their great prudence think fit ; for which 
a new Regulation may be afterwards made. 

X. The majority of every particular Lodge, when congre- 
gated, shall have the privilege of giving instructions to their 
Master and Wardens, before the assembling of the Grand 
Chapter or Lodge, at the three Quarterly Communications 
hereafter mentioned, and of the Annual Grand Lodge too ; 
because their Master and Wardens are their representatives, 
and are supposed to speak their mind. 

XI. All particular Lodges are to observe the same usages 
as much as possible ; in order to which, and for cultivating 
a good understanding among Freemasons, some members out 
of every Lodge shall be deputed to visit the other Lodges a3 
often as shall be thought convenient. 

XII. The Grand Lodge consists of, and is formed by the 
Masters and Wardens of all the regular particular Lodges 
upon record, with the Grand Master at their head, and his 
Deputy on his left hand, and the Grand Wardens in their 
proper places ; and must have a Quarterly Communication 
about Michaelmas, Christmas and Lady-day, in some conven- 
ient place, as the Grand Master shall appoint, where no 
Brother shall be present who is not at that time a member 
thereof without a dispensation; and while he stays, he shall 
not be allowed to vote, nor even give his opinion, without 
leave of the Grand Lodge asked and given, or unless it be 
duly asked by the said Lodge. 

All matters are to be determined in the Grand Lodge by a 
majority of votes, each member having one vote, and the 
Grand Master having two votes, unless the said Lodge leav*» 



THE WRITTEN LAW. 69 

any particular thing to the determination of the Grand Mas- 
ter for the sake of expedition. 

XIII, At the said Quarterly Communication, all matters that 
concern the Fraternity in general, or particular Lodges, or 
single brethren, are quietly, sedately and maturely to be dis- 
coursed of and transacted ; Apprentices must be admitted 
Masters and Fellow Crafts only here * unless by a dispensa- 
tion. Here also all differences, that cannot be made up and 
accommodated privately, nor by a particular Lodge, are to 
bo seriously considered and decided ; and if any Brother 
thinks himself aggrieved by the decision of this Board, he 
may appeal to the Annual Grand Lodge next ensuing, and 
leave his appeal in writing with the Grand Master, or his 
Deputy, or the Grand Wardens. Here also the Master or 
the Wardens of each particular Lodge shall bring and pro- 
duce a list of such members as have been made, or even 
admitted in their particular Lodges since the last Communi- 
cation of the Grand Lodge ; and there shall be a book kept 
by the Grand Master, or his Deputy, or rather by some 
Brother whom the Grand Lodge shall appoint for Secretary, 
wherein shall be recorded all the Lodges, with their usual 
times and places of forming, and the names of all the mem- 
bers of each Lodge ; and all the affairs of the Grand Lodge 
that are proper to be written. 

They shall also consider of the most prudent and effectual 
methods of collecting and disposing of what money shall be 
given to, or lodged with them in charity, towards the relief 
only of any true Brother fallen into poverty or decay, but of 
none else ; but every particular Lodge shall dispose of their 
own charity for poor brethren, according to their own by- 

* This is an important Regulation, the subsequent alteration of which, by 
universal consent, renders many of the Old Regulations inapplicable to the 
present condition of Masonry. For whereas formerly Entered Apprentices 
constituted the general body of the Craft, now it is composed altogether of 
Master Masons ; hence many Regulations, formerly applicable to Apprentices, 
can now only be interpreted as referring to Master Masons. 



70 THE WRITTEN LAW. 

laws, until it be agreed by all the Lodges (in a new regula- 
tion) to carry in the charity collected by them to the Grand 
Lodge, at the Quarterly or Annual Communication, in order to 
make a common stock of it, for the more handsome relief of 
poor brethren. 

They shall also appoint a Treasurer, a Brother of good 
worldly substance, who shall be a member of the Grand 
Lodge by virtue of his office, and shall be always present, 
and have power to move to the Grand Lodge any thing, 
especially what concerns his office. To him shall be com- 
mitted all money raised for charity, or for any other use of 
the Grand Lodge, which he shall write down in a book, with 
the respective ends and uses for which the several sums are 
intended ; and shall expend or disburse the same by such a 
certain order signed, as the Grand Lodge shall afterwards 
agree to in a new Regulation ; but he shall not vote in choos- 
ing a Grand Master or Yfardens, though in every other trans- 
action. As in like manner the Secretary shall be a member 
of the Grand Lodge by virtue of his office, and vote in every 
tiling except in choosing a Grand Master or Wardens. 

The Treasurer and Secretary shall have each a clerk, who 
must be a Brother and Fellow-Craft,* but never must be a 
member of the Grand Lodge, nor speak without being allowed 
or desired. 

The Grand Master or his Deputy shall always command 
the Treasurer and Secretary, with their clerks and books, in 
order to see how matters go on, and to know what is expe- 
dient to be done upon any emergent occasion. 

Another Brother (who must be a Fellow-Craft) * should be 
appointed to look after the door of the Grand Lodge ; but 
shall be no member of it. But these offices may be further ex- 
plained by a new Regulation, when the necessity and expedi- 
ency of them may more appear than at present to the fraternity. 

* Of course, in consequence of the change made in the character of the 
Dody of the Fraternity, alluded to in the last note, these officers must now be 
Master Masons. 



THE WRITTEN LAW. 71 

XIY. If at any Grand Lodge, stated or occasional, quarterly 
or annual, the Grand Master and his Deputy shouid be both 
absent, then the present Master of a Lodge, that lias been 
the longest a Freemason, shall take the chair, and preside as 
Grand Master pro tempore;* and shall be vested with ail his 
power and honor for the time ; provided there is no Brother 
present that has been Grand Master formerly, or Deputy 
Grand Master ; for the last Grand Master present, or else 
the last Deputy present, should always of right take place in 
the absence of the present Grand Master and his Deputy. 

XV. In the Grand Lodge none can act as "Wardens but 
the Grand Wardens themselves, if present ; and if absent, 
the Grand Master, or the person who presides in his place, 
shall order private Wardens to act as Grand Wardens pro 
tempore yf whose places are to be supplied by two Fellow- 
Craft of the same Lodge, called forth to act, or sent thither 
by the particular Master thereof; or if by him omitted, then 
they shall be called by the Grand Master, that so the Grand 
Lodge may be always complete. 

XVI. The Grand W T ardens, or any others, are first to ad- 
vise with the Deputy about the affairs of the Lodge or of the 
brethren, and not to apply to the Grand Master without the 
knowledge of the Deputy, unless he refuse his concurrence 
in any certain necessary affair ; in which case, or in case of 
any difference between the Deputy and the Grand Wardens, 

* In the second edition of the Book of Constitutions, printed in 1738, at 
page 162, this Regulation is thus explained : " In the first edition, the right 
of the Grand Wardens was omitted in this Regulation ; and it has been since 
found that the old Lodges never put into the chair the Master of a particu- 
lar Lodge, but when there was no Grand Warden in company, present nor 
former, and that in such a case a Grand officer always took place of any 
Master of a Lodge that has not been a Grand officer." This, it may be ob- 
served, is the present usage. 

f " It was always the ancient usage," says Anderson, " that the oldest 
former Grand Wardens supplied the piaces of those of the year when ab 
sent" — Const., 2d edit, p. 162. Accordingly, the loth Regulation never was 
observed. 



72 THE WRITTEN LAW. 

or other brethren, both parties are to go by concert to the 
Grand Master, who can easily decide the controversy, and 
make up the difference by virtue of his great authority. 

The Grand Master should receive no intimation of business 
concerning Masonry, but from his Deputy first, except in such 
certain cases as his Worship can well judge of; for if the 
application to the Grand Master be irregular, he can easily 
order the Grand Wardens, or any other brethren thus apply- 
ing, to wait upon his Deputy, who is to prepare the business 
speedily, and to lay it orderly before his Worship. 

XVII. No Grand Master, Deputy Grand Master, Grand 
Wardens, Treasurer, Secretary, or whoever acts for them, or 
in their stead pro tempore, can at the same time be the Master 
or Warden of a particular Lodge ; but as soon as any of 
them has honorably discharged his Grand office, he returns 
to that post or station in his particular Lodge from which he 
was called to officiate above. 

XVIII. If the Deputy Grand Master be sick, or necessarily 
absent, the Grand Master may choose any Fellow-Craft he 
pleases to be his Deputy pro tempore; but he that is chosen 
Deputy at the Grand Lodge, and the Grand Wardens too, 
cannot be discharged without the cause fairly appear to the 
majority of the Grand Lodge ; and the Grand Master, if he 
is uneasy, may call a Grand Lodge on purpose to lay the 
cause before them, and to have their advice and concurrence ; 
in which case the majority of the Grand Lodge, if they can- 
not reconcile the Master and his Deputy or his Wardens, are 
to concur in allowing the Master to discharge his said Deputy 
or his said Wardens, and to choose another Deputy immedi- 
ately ; and the said Grand Lodge shall choose other Wardens 
in that case, that harmony and peace may be preserved. 

XIX. If the Grand Master should abuse his power, and 
render himself unworthy of the obedience and subjection of 
the Lodges, he shall be treated in a way and manner to be 
agreed upon in a new Regulation ; because hitherto the 
ancient Fraternity have had no occasion for it, their former 



THE WEITTEN LAW. 73 

Grand Masters having all behaved themselves worthy of that 
honourable office. 

XX. The Grand Master, with his Deputy and Wardens, 
shall (at least once) go round and visit all the Lodges about 
town during his Mastership. 

XXI. If the Grand Master die during his Mastership ; or by 
sickness, or by being beyond sea, or any other way should 
be rendered uncapable of discharging his office, the Deputy, 
or in his absence the Senior Grand Warden, or in his absence 
the Junior, or in his absence any three present Masters of 
Lodges, shall join to congregate the Grand Lodge immedi- 
ately, to advise together upon that emergency, and to send 
two of their number to invite the last Grand Master* to re- 
sume his office, which now in course reverts to him ; or if he 
refuse, then the next last, and so backward ; but if no former 
Grand Master can be found, then the Deputy shall act as 
principal, until another is chosen ; or if there be no Deputy, 
then the oldest Master. 

XXII. The brethren of all the Lodges in and about London 
and Westminster shall meet at an Annual Communication 
and Feast,f in some convenient place, on St. John Baptist's 
day, or else on St. John Evangelist's day, as the Grand Lodge 
shall think fit by a new Regulation, having of late years met 
on St. John Baptist's day ; provided : The majority of Mas- 
ters and Wardens, with the Grand Master, his Deputy and 
Wardens, agree at their Quarterly Communication, J three 
months before, that there shall be a feast, and a General 

* The modern usage is for the highest present Grand officer to assume 
the vacant post. 

t Very few Grand Lodges now observe this Regulation. The feast of St 
John is celebrated everywhere by the private Lodges ; but the Annual Com- 
munications of Grand Lodges generally occur at a different period of the 
year. 

| Quarterly Communications are still held by the Grand Lodge of England, 
and a few Grand Lodges in this country ; but the Regulation is becoming 
generally obsolete, simply because it has been found impracticable. 



74 



THE WRITTEN LAW. 



Communication of all the brethren ; for if either the Grand 
Master, or the majority of the particular Masters are against 
it, it must be dropt for that time. 

But whether there shall be a feast for all the brethren or 
not, yet the Grand Lodge must meet in some convenient 
place annually, on St. John's day ; or if it be Sunday, then 
on the next day, in order to choose every year a new Grand 
Master, Deputy and Wardens. 

XXIII. If it be thought expedient, and the Grand Master, 
with the majority of the Masters and Wardens, agree to hold 
a grand feast, according to the ancient laudable custom of 
Masons, then the Grand Wardens shall have the care of pre- 
paring the tickets, sealed with the Grand Master's seal, of 
disposing of the tickets, of receiving the money for the 
tickets, of buying the materials of the feast, of finding out a 
proper and convenient place to feast in ; and of every other 
thing that concerns the entertainment. , 

But that the work may not be too burthensome to the two 
Grand Wardens, and that all matters may be expeditiously 
and safely managed, the Grand Master or his Deputy shall 
have power to nominate and appoint a certain number of 
Stewards, as his Worship shall think fit, to act in concert 
with the two Grand Wardens ; all things relating to the feast 
being decided amongst them by a majority of voices ; except 
the Grand Master or his Deputy interpose by a particular 
direction or appointment. 

XXIV. The Wardens and Stewards shall, in due time, wait 
upon the Grand Master or his Deputy for directions and 
orders about the premises ; but if his Worship and his 
Deputy are sick, or necessarily absent, they shall call to- 
gether the Masters and Wardens of Lodges to meet on 
purpose for their advice and orders, or else they may 
take the matter wholly upon themselves, and do the best 
they can. 

The Grand Wardens and the Stewards are to account for 
all the money they receive or expend, to the Grand Lodge, 



THE WRITTEN IjAW. 75 

after dinner, or when the Grand Lodge shall think fit to re- 
ceive their accounts. 

If the Grand Master pleases, he may in due time summon 
all the Masters and Wardens of Lodges to consult with them 
about ordering the grand feast, and about any emergency or 
accidental thing relating thereunto, that may require advice ; 
or else to take it upon himself altogether. 

XXV. The Masters of Lodges shall each appoint one ex- 
perienced and discreet Fellow-Craft of his Lodge, to compose 
a committee, consisting of one from every Lodge, who shall 
meet to receive, in a convenient apartment, every person 
that brings a ticket, and shall have power to discourse him, 
if they think fit, in order to admit him or debar him, as they 
shall see cause ; provided, they send no man away before 
they have acquainted all the brethren within doors with the 
reasons thereof, to avoid mistakes, that so no true Brother 
may be debarred, nor a false Brother or mere pretender ad- 
mitted. This committee must meet very early on St. John's 
Day at the place, even before any persons come with 
tickets. 

XXVI. The Grand Master shall appoint two or more trusty 
brethren to be porters or doorkeepers, who are also to be 
early at the place for some good reasons, and who are to be 
at the command of the committee. 

XXVII. The Grand Wardens or the Stewards shall appoint 
beforehand such a number of brethren to serve at table as 
they think fit and proper for that work ; and they may ad- 
vise with the Masters and Wardens of Lodges about the 
most proper persons, if they please, or may take in such by 
their recommendation ; for none are to serve that day but 
Free and Accepted Masons, that the communication may be 
free and harmonious. 

XXV 111. All the members of the Grand Lodge must be at 
the place long before dinner, with the Grand Master, or his 
Deputy, at their head, who shall retire and form themselves 
And this is done in order : 



76 THE WRITTEN LAW. 

1. To receive any appeals duly lodged, as above regu- 
lated, that the appellant may be heard, and the affair may 
be amicably decided before dinner, if possible ; but if it 
cannot, it must be delayed till after the new Grand Master 
is ekcted ; and if it cannot be decided after dinner, it may 
be delayed, and referred to a particular committee, that 
shall quietly adjust it, and make report to the next Quar- 
terly Communication, that brotherly love may be pre- 
served. 

2. To prevent any difference or disgust which may be 
feared to arise that day ; that no interruption may be given 
to the harmony and pleasure of the grand feast. 

3. To consult about whatever concerns the decency and 
decorum of the Grand Assembly, and to prevent all inde- 
cency and ill manners, the assembly being promiscuous. 

4. To receive and consider of any good motion, or any 
momentous and important affair, that shall be brought 
from the particular Lodges, by their representatives, the 
several Masters and Wardens. 

XXIX. After these things are discussed, the Grand Master 
and his Deputy, the Grand Wardens, or the Stewards, the 
Secretary, the Treasurer, the Clerks, and every other person, 
shall withdraw, and leave the Masters and Wardens of the 
particular Lodges alone, in order to consult amicably about 
electing a new Grand Master, or continuing the present, if 
they have not done it the day before ; and if they are unani- 
mous for continuing the present Grand Master, his Worship 
shall be called in, and humbly desired to do the Fraternity 
the honor of ruling them for the year ensuing ; and after 
dinner it will be known whether he accepts of it or not ; for 
it should not be discovered but by the election itself. 

XXX. Then the Masters and Wardens, and all the brethren, 
may converse promiscuously, or as they please to sort to- 
gether, until the dinner is coming in, when every Brother 
takes his seat at table. 

XXXI. Some time after dinner the Grand Lodge is formed 



THE WRITTEN LAW. 77 

not in retirement, but in the presence of all the brethren, 
who yet are not members of it, and must not therefore speak 
until they are desired and allowed. 

XXXII. If the Grand Master of last year has consented 
with the Master and Wardens in private, before dinner, to 
continue for the year ensuing ; then one of the Grand Lodge, 
deputed for that purpose, shall represent to all the brethren 
his Worship's good government, &c. And turning to him, 
shall, in the name of the Grand Lodge, humbly request him 
to do the Fraternity the great honour (if nobly born,) if not, 
the great kindness of continuing to be their Grand Master 
for the year ensuing. And his Worship declaring his con- 
sent by a bow or a speech, as he pleases, the said deputed 
member of the Grand Lodge shall proclaim him Grand Mas^ 
ter, and all the members of the Lodge shall salute him in due 
form. And all the brethren shall for a few minutes have 
leave to declare their satisfaction, pleasure and congratu- 
lation. 

XXXIIT. But if either the Master and Wardens have not 
in private, this day before dinner, nor the day before, 
desired the last Grand Master to continue in the master- 
ship another year ; or if he, when desired, has not con- 
sented: Then 

The last Grand Master shall nominate nis successor for the 
year ensuing, who, if unanimously approved by the Grand 
Lodge, and if there present, shall be procl?imed, saluted and 
congratulated the new Grand Master, as above hinted, and 
immediately installed by the last Grand Master, according to 
usage. 

XXXIV. But if that nomination is not unanimously ap- 
proved, the new Grand Master shall be chosen immediately 
by ballot, every Master and Warden writing his man's name, 
and the last Grand Master writing his man's name too ; and 
the man whose name the last Grand Master shall first take 
out, casually or by chance, shall be Grand Master for the 
year ensuing ; and if present, he shall be proclaimed, saluted 



78 THE WRITTEN LAW. 

and congratulated, as above hinted, and forthwith installed 
by the last Grand Master, according to usage.* 

XXXV. The last Grand Master thus continued, or the new 
Grand Master thus installed, shall next nominate and appoint 
his Deputy Grand Master, either the last or a new one, who 
shall be also declared, saluted and congratulated, as above 
hinted. 

The Grand Master shall also nominate the new Grand 
Wardens, and if unanimously approved by the Grand Lodge, 
shall be declared, saluted and congratulated, as above hinted ; 
but if not, they shall be chosen by ballot, in the same way as 
the Grand Master ; as the Wardens of private Lodges are 
also to be chosen by ballot in each Lodge, if the members 
thereof do not agree to their Master's nomination. 

XXXVI. But if the Brother, whom the present Grand 
Master shall nominate for his successor, or whom the ma- 
jority of the Grand Lodge shall happen to choose by ballot, 
is, by sickness or other necessary occasion, absent from the 
grand feast, he cannot be proclaimed the new Grand Master, 
unless the old Grand Master, or some of the Masters and 
Wardens of the Grand Lodge can vouch, upon the honour of a 
Brother, that the said person, so nominated or chosen, will 
readily accept of the said office ; in which case the old Grand 
Master shall act as proxy, and shall nominate the Deputy and 
Wardens in his name, and in his name also receive the usual 
honours, hcmage and congratulation. 

XXXVII. Then the Grcnd Master shall allow any Brother, 
Fellow-Craft, or Apprentice, to speak, directing his discourse 
to his Worship ; or to make any motion for the good of the 
Fraternity, which shall be either immediately considered and 
finished, or else referred to the consideration of the Grand 
Lodge at their next communication, stated or occasional. 
When that is over, 



* I know of no instance on record in which this custom of selecting by lot 
Has been followed. The regulation is now clearly everywhere obsolete. 



THE WEITTEX LAW. 79 

XXXVIII. The Grand Master, or his Deputy, or some 
Brother appointed by him, shall harangue all the brethren, 
and give them good advice ; and lastly, after some other 
transactions, that cannot be written in any language, the 
brethren may go away or stay longer, if they please. 

XXXIX. Every Annual Grand Lodge has an inherent 
power and authority to make new Regulations,* or to alter 
these, for the real benefit of this ancient Fraternity : pro- 
vided always that the old Landmarks be carefully preserved, 
and that such alterations and new Regulations be proposed 
and agreed to at the third Quarterly Communication preced- 
ing the annual grand feast ; and that they be offered also to 
the perusal of all the brethren before dinner, in writing, even 
of the 3 r oungest Apprentice ; the approbation and consent 
of the majority of all the brethren present being absolutely 
necessary to make the same binding and obligatory ; which 
must, after dinner, and after the new Grand Master is in- 
stalled, be solemnly desired ; as it was desired and obtained 
for these Regulations, when proposed by the Grand Lodge, 
to about 150 brethren, on St. John Baptist's day, 1721. 

The Constitutions, Charges and Regulations here 
presented to the reader, and which were adopted at 
various periods, from 926 to 1722, constitute the 
Written Law of Masonry, and they were at one 
time co-extensive in authority with the Landmarks 
of the Order. From these, however, they differ in 
this respect, that the Landmarks being unrepealable, 
must ever continue in force j but the .Written Law, 
having been adopted by the supreme legislative au- 
thority of the Order at the time, may be altered, 
amended, or altogether repealed by the same su- 

* See note on page 65. 



80 THE WRITTEN" LAW. 

preme authority — a doctrine which is explicitly set 
forth in the Thirty-ninth General Regulation. 
Accordingly, portions of this Written Law have, 
from time to time, been materially modified by dif- 
ferent Grand Lodges, as will be evident upon in- 
spection of these laws with the modern Constitutions 
of any jurisdiction. 

It may, however, be considered as an axiom of 
Masonic law, that in every Masonic jurisdiction, 
where any one of these Regulations has not been 
formally or implicitly repealed by a subsequent en- 
actment of a new law, the old Regulation will 
continue in force, and the Craft must be governed 
by its provisions. 

So in all doubtful questions of Masonic law, re- 
course must be had, in forming an opinion, first to 
the Landmarks, and then to this code of Written 
Laws ; and out of these two authorities, the legal 
dictum is to be established, because all the principles 
of law are embraced in these two authorities, the 
Ancient Landmarks and the Ancient Written Law ; 
and hence they have been necessarily incorporated 
into this volume, as a fitting introduction, under the 
appropriate title of the Foundations of Masonic 
Law. 



BOOK II 



Heto jRflefing lo (fanbi&flfes. 



The position of a candidate is a transition state from the 
profane world to the Masonic institution. It is the first step 
taken which is to place the recipient within the jurisdiction 
of Masonic Law. It is proper, therefore, to commence a 
treatise on that subject, with a consideration of all that re- 
lates to this peculiar condition, such as the qualifications of 
candidates, and their method of application and admission, 
or rejection. These topics will therefore be considered in 
the present Book. 



CHAPTER I. 
£f)e (SXiialifiCcrtions of (Katttrttratcs. 

The qualifications which are essential in those 
who apply for initiation into the mysteries of Free- 
masonry, are of two kinds, internal and external* 

The internal qualifications of a candidate are those 
which lie within his own bosom, and are not patent 
to the world. They refer to his peculiar disposi- 
tions towards the institution — his motives and de- 
sign in seeking an entrance into it. Hence they 
are knov^n to himself alone ; and a knowledge of 
them can only be acquired from his own solemn 
declarations. 

The external qualifications are those which refer 
to his outward fitness for initiation, and are based 
on his moral and religious character, the frame of 
his body, the constitution of his mind, and his 

* It is true that the ritual of the first degree says, that " it is the internal 
and not the external qualifications whicn recommend a man to be made a 
Mason," but the context of the sentence shows that the external qualifica- 
tions there referred to are " worldly wealth and honors."' The ritual, there- 
fore, has of course no allusion te the sort of external qualifications which are 
here te be discussed. 



84 THE QUALIFICATIONS 

social position. A knowledge of these is to be 
acquired from a careful examination by a committee 
appointed for that purpose. 

Each of these divisions requires a separate con- 
sideration. 

SECTION I. 

THE INTERNAL QUALIFICATIONS. 

The first of these internal qualifications is, that 
every candidate for initiation into the mysteries of 
Freemasonry must come of his own free will and 
accord.* This is a peculiar feature of the Masonic 
institution that must commend it to the respect of 
every generous mind. In other associations, it is 
considered meritorious in a member to exert his 
influence in obtaining applications for admission, 
but it is wholly uncongenial with the spirit of our 
Order to persuade any one to become a Mason. 
"Whosoever seeks a knowledge of our mystic rites, 
must first be prepared for the ordeal in his heart : 
he must not only be endowed with the necessary 
moral qualifications which would fit him for admis- 
sion into a society which is founded on the purest 

* Preston, (lllml. p. 32, note, Ol. ed.) lays down the following as " the 
Declaration to be assented to by every candidate previous to initiation, and 
to be subscribed by his name at full length," and this form of declaration, it 
may be added, has been almost verbally adhered to by all subsequent 
authorities • 

" I, [A. B.,] being free by birth, and of the full age of twenty-one years, 
do declare, that, unbiased by the improper solicitation of friends, and unin- 
fluenced by mercenary or other unworthy motives, I freely and voluntarily 
offer myself a candidate for the mysteries of Masonry," &c. 



OP CANDIDATES. 85 

principles of virtue and religion, but he must come, 
too, uninfluenced by the persuasions of friends. 
This is a settled usage of the Order, and therefore 
nothing can be more painful to a true Mason than 
to see this usage violated by young and heedless 
brethren. It cannot be denied that this usage is 
sometimes violated ; and this habit of violation is 
one of those unhappy influences often almost in- 
sensibly exerted upon Masonry by the existence of 
the many imitative societies to which the present 
age, like those which preceded it, has given birth, 
and which resemble Masonry in nothing, except in 
having some sort of a secret ceremony of initiation. 
And hence there are some men who, coming among 
us, imbued with the principles and accustomed to 
the usages of these modern societies * in which the 
persevering solicitation of candidates is considered 
as a legitimate and even laudable practice, bring 
with them these preconceived notions, and consider 
it as their duty to exert all their influence in per- 
suading their friends to become members of the 
Craft. Men who thus misconceive the true policy 

* The evil influences exerted by these societies on our institution have 
frequently attracted attention. The Grand Inspectors for the city of Balti- 
more, in the Grand Dodge of Maryland, make on this subject the following 
remarks : " Many are crowding into our institution from other secret so- 
cieties, having their prejudices and peculiar ideas and notions, with a disposi- 
tion to make Masonry conform to what they have been taught elsewhere ; 
and finding places of power and honor easy of access, are hardly sensible 
of the burdens imposed upon Entered Apprentices, or conscious of what ma- 
terial is necessary for the building, before they are superintending, as Mas 
ters, its construction, and sometimes seem indignant that they should be told 
they are spoiling the temple." — Proceedings G. L. of Md., 1857, p. 35. 



86 THE QUALIFICATIONS 

of our institution, should be instructed ly their 
older and more experienced brethren that it is 
wholly in opposition to all our laws and principles 
to ask any one to become a Mason, or to exercise 
any kind of influence upon the minds of others, 
except that of a truly Masonic life and a practical 
exemplification of the tenets by which they may be 
induced to ask admission into our Lodges. We 
must not seek — we are to be sought. 

And if this were not an ancient law, imbedded in 
the very cement that upholds our system, policy 
alone would dictate an adherence to the voluntary 
usage. We need not now fear that our institution 
will suffer from a deficiency of members. Our 
greater dread should be that, in its rapid extension, 
less care may be given to the selection of candi- 
dates than the interests and welfare of the Order 
demand. There can, therefore, be no excuse for 
the practice of persuading candidates, but every 
hope of safety in avoiding such a practice. It 
should always be borne in mind that the candidate 
who comes to our altar, not of his own " free will 
and accord,"* but induced by the persuasion of his 
friends, no matter how worthy he may otherwise 
be, violates, by so coming, the requirements of the 
institution on the very threshold of its temple, and, 
in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, fails to be- 
come imbued with that zealous attachment to the 

* The oldest rituals which I have been enabled to consult, preserve this 01 
a similar form of words. The voluntary principle has always prevailed an<3 
been recognized in every country. 



OF CANDIDATES. 87 

Order which is absolutely essential to the formation 
of a true Masonic character. 

The next internal qualification of a candidate is 
that, in making his application, he must be uninflu- 
enced by mercenary motives* If the introduction 
of candidates under the influence of undue solicita- 
tion is attended with an injurious effect upon the 
institution, how much more fatal must be the results 
when the influence exerted is of a mean and ignoble 
kind, and when the applicant is urged onwards only 
by the degrading hopes of pecuniary interest or 
personal aggrandizement. The whole spirit of the 
Order revolts at the very idea of such a prostitution 
of its noble purposes, and turns with loathing from 
the aspirant who seeks its mysteries, impelled, not 
by the love of truth and the desire of knowledge, 
but by the paltry inducements of sordid gain. 

" There was a time," says an eloquent and discern- 
ing Brother,'!* " when few except the good and true 
either sought for or gained admission into Masonic 
Lodges, for it was thought that such alone could 
find their affinities there. Masons were then corn- 
par atively few, and were generally known and dis- 
tinguished for those qualifications which the teach- 
ings of the Order require on the part of all who 
apply for admission. They were not of those who 
would make merchandise of its benefits, by prosti- 

* This qualification is included in the Declaration from Preston, already 
quoted on a preceding page. 

1 Brother W. H. Howard, Past Grand Master of California. See his 
Address in the Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of California, 1857, p. 12, 



88 THE QUALIFICATIONS 

tuting tliem to the purposes of individual emolu- 
ment. They were not of those who would seek 
through Masonic appliances to re-invigorate a de- 
caying reputation, and gain a prominency within 
the Lodge that was unattainable without it ; or 
worse still, to use its influences to gain prominency 
elsewhere." 

But that which was unknown in the times when 
Masonry was struggling for its existence, and when 
prejudice and bigotry barely tolerated its presence, 
has now become a " crying evil" — when Masonry, 
having outlived its slanderers, and wrought out its 
own reputation, is to be classed among the most 
popular institutions of the day. And hence it be- 
comes incumbent on every Mason closely to inquire 
whether any applicant for initiation is invited to his 
pursuit by a love of truth, a favorable opinion 
which he has conceived of the institution, and a 
desire, through its instrumentality, of benefiting 
his fellow creatures, or whether he comes to our 
doors under the degrading influences of mercenary 
motives. 

The presence of these internal qualifications is to 
be discovered, as I have already said, from the 
statements of the candidate himself ; and hence by 
an ancient usage of the Order, which should never 
be omitted, a declaration to the necessary effect is 
required to be made by the candidate in the presence 
of the Stewards of the Lodge, or a committee ap- 
pointed for that purpose, in an adjoining apartment, 
previous to his initiation. The oldest form of this 



OF CANDIDATES. 89 

declaration used in this country is that contained in 
Webb's Monitor,""" and is in these words : 

" Do you seriously declare, upon your honor, before these 
genthmen, that, unbiassed by friends and uninfluenced by 
mercenary motives, you freely and voluntarily offer yourself 
a candidate for the mysteries of Masonry ? 

" Do you seriously declare, upon your honor, before these 
gentlemen, that you are prompted to solicit the privileges 
of Masonry by a favorable opinion conceived of the insti- 
tution, a desire of knowledge, and a sincere wish of being 
serviceable to your fellow creatures ? 

" Do you seriously declare, upon your honor, before these 
gentlemen, that you will cheerfully conform to all the ancient 
established usages and customs of the Fraternity V 

Some Grand Lodges have slightly added to the 
number of these questions, but the three above cited 
appear to be all that ancient usage warrants or the 
necessities of the case require. 

SECTION n. 

THE EXTERNAL QUALIFICATIONS. 

We have already said that the external qualifica- 
tions of every candidate are based upon his moral 
and religious character, the frame of his body, the 
constitution of his mind, and his social position. 
These qualifications are therefore of a fourfold 
nature, and must be considered under the distinct 
heads of Moral, Physical, Intellectual and Political. 



* Edition of 1808, p. 32. The Declaration previously published by Fees 
ton differs very slightly from this. 



90 THE QUALIFICATIONS 

Moral Qualifications. 

All the old Constitutions, from those of York in 
926, to the Charges approved in 1722, refer, in 
pointed terms, to the moral qualifications which 
should distinguish a Mason, and, of consequence, a 
candidate who desires to be admitted into the Fra- 
ternity. * The Charges of 1722 commence with 
the emphatic declaration that " a Mason is obliged 
by his tenure to obey the moral law ; and if he 
rightly understands the art, he will never be a 
stupid atheist nor an irreligious libertine. "t Obe- 
dience, therefore, to a particular practical law of 
morality and belief in certain religious dogmas, 
seem to constitute the moral qualifications of every 
candidate for admission into the Fraternity. The 
proper inquiry will then be into the nature of this 
law of conduct and these dogmas of belief. 

The term " moral law," in a strictly theological 
sense, signifies the Ten Commandments which were 
given to the Jewish nation ; but although it is admit- 
ted that an habitual violatior of the spirit of these 
laws would disqualify a man from being made a 
Mason, I am disposed , to give a wider latitude tc 

* " Every Mason shall cultivate brotnerly love, and the love of God, and 
frequent holy church."— Old York Constitutions, point 1. " Ye shall be 
true men to God and the holy church, and to use no error or heresy by your 
understanding and by wise men's teaching." — Installation Charges of 1686, 
No. 1. " The persons admitted members of a Lodge must be good and true 
men, . .... no immoral or scandalous men, but of good report." 
Charges of 1722, No. 3. All of these are summed up in tbe ritualistic 
phrase that the candidate must be " under the tongue of good report." 

f Anderson's Constitutions, edit. 1723, p. 50. 



OF CANDIDATES. 91 

the definition, and to suppose that the moral lata 
ic denotes the rule of good and evil, or of right and 
wrong, revealed by the Creator and inscribed on 
man's conscience even at his creation, and conse- 
quently binding upon him by divine authority."* 
Dr. Anderson, the compiler of the first edition of the 
Book of Constitutions, seems, in the latter part of 
his life, to have inclined to this opinion ; for, in the 
second edition of the same work, published in 1738, 
he modified the language of the Charge above cited, 
in these words : " A Mason is obliged by his tenure 
to observe the moral law as a true Noachida,"t 
thus extending the limits of the law to those Pre- 
cepts of Noah which are supposed to be of universal 
obligation among all nations. J It is true that on 
the publication of the third edition of the Constitu- 
tions, in 1755, the Grand Lodge of England re- 
stored the original reading of the Charge ; but the 
fact that the alteration had once been made by 
Anderson, is strong presumptive evidence that he 
was unwilling to restrict the moral code of Masonry 
to the commandments set forth by the Jewish law- 
giver. Apart from the fact that many learned and 
pious Christian divines have doubted how far the 

* Encyclop. of Relig. KnowJecl, art. Law. Boston, 1835. 

t Anderson's Constitutions, 2d edit., 1738, p. 143. 

$ As these Precepts of the patriarch Noah are frequently referred to as 
having been the constitutions of our ancient brethren, it may be well to 
enumerate them. They are seven in number, and are as follows : 1. Re- 
nounce all idols. 2. Worship the only true God. 3. Commit no murder. 
4. Be not defiled by incest. 5. Do not steal. 6. Be just. 7. Eat no flesb 
with blood in it. 



92 THE QUALIFICATIONS 

Jewish law is to be considered binding, except as it 
is confirmed by the express sanctions of the New 
Testament* the consideration that Masonry, being 
a cosmopolitan institution, cannot be prescribed 
within the limits of any particular religion, must 
lead us to give a more extended application to the 
words " moral law," contained in the old Charge. 
Hence, then, we may say, that he who desires to be- 
come a Mason, must first be qualified for initiation 
by a faithful observanse of all those principles of 
morality and virtue which practically exhibit them- 
selves in doing unto others as he would that they, 
in like circumstances, should do unto him. This 
constitutes the golden rule — the true basis of all 
moral law. The man who thus conducts himself 
will necessarily receive not only the reward of his 
own conscience, but the approbation and respect of 
the world ; to which latter consequence, as an evi- 
dence of a well-spent life, the ritual refers when it 
requires, as one of the qualifications of a candidate, 
that he should be " under the tongue of good re- 
port." The man who submits to this rule, will of 
necessity observe the decalogue ; not always because 
it is the decalogue, but because its dictates are the 
dictates of right and justice ; and he will thus come 
strictly within the provisions of the old Charge, 

* Thus Martin Luther says : " The law belongs to the Jews, and binds 
us no more. From the text it is clear that the Ten Commandments also do 
not belong to as, because he has not led us out of Egypt, but the Jews only. 
Moses we will take to be our teacher, but not as our lawgiver, unless he 
agrees with the New Testament and the natural law." Unterrichl wie sich 
die Christen in Mosen schicken soUen. 



OF CANDIDATES. 93 

even in its most limited acceptation, and will of 
course " obey the moral law.' 7 

The religious qualifications are embraced in the 
same Charge, under the expression, that if a Mason 
" rightly understands the art, he will never be a 
stupid atheist nor an irreligious libertine." 

A belief in God is one of the unwritten Land- 
marks of the Order, requiring no regulation or 
statutory law for its confirmation. Such a belief 
results from the very nature of the Masonic insti- 
tution, and is set forth in the rituals of the Order 
as one of the very first pre-requisites to the cere- 
mony of initiation. This Divine Being, the creator 
of heaven and earth, is particularly viewed in Ma- 
sonry in his character as the Great Master Builder 
of the Worlds, and is hence masonically addressed 
as the Grand Architect of the Universe.* 

But consequent on a belief in him, and indeed 
inseparably connected with it, is a belief in a 
resurrection to a future life. This doctrine of a 
resurrection is also one of the great Landmarks of 
the Order, and its importance and necessity may be 
estimated from the fact, that almost the whole de- 
sign of speculative Masonry, from its earliest ori- 
gin, seems to have been to teach this great doctrine 
of the resurrect ion. f 

As to any other religious doctrines, Masonry 

* Very usually abbreviated thus, " G.A.O.T.U." 

f " This oar Order is a positive contradiction to the Judaic blindness and 
infidelity, and testifies our faith concerning the resurrection of the body.''— 
Hutchinson, Spirit of Masonry, p. 101. 



94 THE QUALIFICATIONS 

leaves its candidates to the enjoyment of their own 
opinions, whatever they may be.* The word " liber- 
tine," which is used in the old Charges, conveyed, 
at the time when those Charges were composed, a 
meaning somewhat different from that which is now 
given to it. Bailey defines libertinism to be " a 
false liberty of belief and manners, which will have 
no other dependence but on particular fancy and 
passion ; a living at large, or according to a per- 
son's inclination, without regard to the divine 
laws."t A " religious libertine" is, therefore, a re- 
jector of all moral responsibility to a superior 
power, and may be well supposed to be a denier of 
the existence of a Supreme Being and of a future 
life. Such a skeptic is, therefore, by the innate con- 
stitution of speculative Masonry, unfit for initiation, 
because the object of all Masonic initiation is to 
teach these two great truths. 

Within a few years an attempt has been made by 
some Grand Lodges to add to these simple, moral, 
and religious qualifications, another, which requires 
a belief in the divine authenticity of the Scriptures. :J 

* " Though in ancient times Masons were charged in every country to be 
of the religion of that country or nation, whatever it was, yet it is now 
thought more expedient only to oblige them to that religion in which all men 
agree, leaving their particular opinions to themselves." — Charges of 1722, 
No. 1. 

t Universal Etymological English Dictionary, anno 1737. 

rj: In 1820, the Grand Lodge of Ohio resolved that " in the first degrees of 
Masonry, religious tenets shall not be a barrier to the admission or advance 
ment of applicants, provided they profess a belief in God and, his holy 
ioord. v — Proceedings of G. L. of Ohio, from 1808 to 1847 inclusive. 
Volumbus, i >57, p. 113. And in 1854 it adopted a resolution declaiing 



OP CANDIDATES. 95 

It is much to be regretted that Masons will some- 
times forget the fundamental law of their institu- 
tion, and endeavor to add to or to detract from the 
perfect integrity of the building, as it was left to 
them by their predecessors. Whenever this is done, 
the beauty of our temple must suffer. The Land- 
marks of Masonry are so perfect that they neither 
need nor will permit of the slightest amendment. 
Thus in the very instance here referred to, the 
fundamental law of Masonry requires only a belief 
in the Supreme Architect of the universe, and in a 
future life, while it says, with peculiar toleration, 
that in all other matters of religious belief, Masons 
are only expected to be of that religion in which all 
men agree, leaving their particular opinions to 
themselves. Under the shelter of this wise pro- 
vision, the Christian and the Jew, the Mohammedan 
and the Brahmin, are permitted to unite around 
our common altar, and Masonry becomes, in practice 
as well as in theory, universal. The truth is, that 
Masonry is undoubtedly a religious institution — its 
religion being of that universal kind in which all 
men agree, and which, handed down through a long 
succession of ages, from that ancient priesthood who 

" that Masonry, as we have received it from our fathers, teaches the divine 
authenticity of the Holy Scriptures.'" — Proc. G. L., Ohio, 1854, p. 72. 
Commenting on this resolution, the Committee of Correspondence of the 
G. L. of Alabama say : " That some Masons may teach the divine authen- 
ticity of the Holy Scriptures, is true, because some Masons are Christians ; 
but Masonry does nothing of the sort, but leaves every man to his own 
opinion upon that subject, as it does upon his politics, his religion, his pro 
fession."— Proc. G. L. Ala., 1855, p. 67. 



96 THE QUALIFICATIONS 

first taught it, embraces the great tenets of the exist- 
ence of Gocl and the immortality of the soul — 
tenets which, by its peculiar symbolic language, it 
has preserved from its foundation, and still con- 
tinues, in the same beautiful way, to teach. Beyond 
this, for its religious faith, we must not and can- 
not go. 

It may, then, I think, be laid down as good Ma- 
sonic law, with respect to the moral and religious 
qualifications of candidates, that they are required 
to be men of good moral character, believing in the 
existence of God and in a future state. These are 
all the moral qualifications that can be demanded, 
but each of them is essential. 



Physical Qualifications. 

The physical qualifications of a candidate are re- 
peatedly alluded to in the ancient Charges and 
Constitutions, and may be considered under the 
three heads of Sex, Age, and Bodily Conformation. 

1. As to Sex. — It is an unquestionable Landmark 
of the Order, and the very first pre-requisite to ini- 
tiation, that the candidate shall be " a man." This 
of course prohibits the initiation of a woman. This 
Landmark arises from the peculiar nature of our 
speculative science as connected with an operative 
art. Speculative Masonry is but the application of 
operative Masonry to moral and intellectual pur- 
poses. Our predecessors wrought, according to the 
traditions of the Order, at the construction of a ma- 



OF CANDIDATES. 97 

tcrial temple, while we are engaged in the erection 
of a spiritual edifice — the temple of the mind. 
They employed their implements for merely me- 
chanical purposes ; we use them symbolically, with 
a more exalted design. Thus it is that in all our 
emblems, our language, and our rites, there is a 
beautiful exemplification and application of the 
rules of operative Masonry to a spiritual purpose. 
And as it is evident that King Solomon employed 
in the construction of his temple only hale and 
hearty men and cunning workmen, so our Lodges, 
in imitation of that great exemplar, demand, as an 
indispensable requisite to initiation into our myste- 
ries, that the candidate shall be a man, capable of 
performing such work as the Master shall assign 
him. This is, therefore, the origin of the Land- 
mark which prohibits the initiation of females. 

2. As to Age. — The ancient Regulations do not 
express any determinate number of years at the 
expiration of which a candidate becomes legally en- 
titled to apply for admission. The language used 
is, that he must be of " mature and discreet age."* 
But the usage of the Craft has differed in various 
countries as to the construction of the time when 
this period of maturity and discretion is supposed' 
to have arrived. The sixth of the Regulations, 
adopted in 1663. prescribes that ' ; no person shall be 
accepted unless he be twenty-one years old, or 
more ■" but the subsequent Regulations are less ex- 



* " The persons admitted members of a Lodge mast be 
of mature and discreet age." — Charges of 1722, iii. 



98 THE QUALIFICATIONS 

plicit. At Frankfort-on-the-Mainc, the ago required 
k twenty ; in the Lodges of Switzerland, it has 
been fixed at twenty-one. The Grand Lodge of 
Hanover prescribes the age of twenty-five, but per- 
mits the son of a Mason to be admitted at eighteen.* 
The Grand Lodge of Hamburg decrees that the 
lawful age for initiation shall be that which in any 
country has been determined by the laws of the 
land to be the age of majority .t The Grand Orient 
of France requires the candidate to be twenty-one, 
unless he be the son of a Mason, who has performed 
some important service to the Order, or unless he 
be a young man who has served six months in the 
army, when the initiation may take place at the 
age of eighteen. In Prussia the required age is 
twenty-five. In England it is twenty-one, except in 
cases where a dispensation has been granted for an 
earlier age by the Grand or Provincial Grand Mas- 
ter. In Ireland the age must be twenty-one, except 
in cases of dispensation granted by the Grand Mas- 
ter or Grand Lodge. In the United States, the 
usage is general that the candidate shall not be less 
than twenty-one years of age at the time of his ini- 
tiation, and no dispensation can issue for conferring 
the degrees at an earlier period. 

This variety in the laws relating to this subject 
conclusively proves that the precise age has never 
been determined by any Landmark of the Order, 

* Statuten der Grossloge des Konigreichs Hanover, 1839, § 222. 
f Constitutions Buch der Grossen Loge zu Hamburg, 1845, § 459. 



OF CANDIDATES. 99 

Tlie design and nature of the institution must in 
this case be our only guide. The speculative charac- 
ter of the society requires that none shall be admit- 
ted to its mysteries except those who have reached 
maturity and discretion ; but it is competent for 
any Grand Lodge to determine for itself what shall 
be considered to be that age of maturity. Perhaps 
the best regulation is that adopted by the Grand 
Lodge of Hamburg. Hence the Masons of this 
country have very wisely conformed to the pro- 
visions of the law on this subject, which prevail in 
all the States, and have made the age of twenty- 
one* the legal one for candidates applying for 
admission. 

" An old man in his dotage" is, like " a young 
man under age," equally incapable of initiation. 
The reason in both cases is the same. There is an 
absence of that maturity of intellect which is re- 
quired for the comprehension of our mysteries. In 
one instance the fruit is still green ; in the other, it 
has ripened and rotted, and is ready to fall from the 
tree. Dotage may be technically defined to be an 
impotence of body as well as of mind, from excess- 
ive old age. It is marked by childish desires and 
pursuits, a loss of judgment and memory, and a 
senseless and unconnected garrulity of speech. No 
precise age can be fixed to which these intellectual 
deficiencies belong. They appear earlier in some 
mental constitutions than they do in others. The 

* Twenty-one is the age of majority prescribed by the civil law. 



100 THE QUALIFICATIONS 

Lodge must determine for itself as to whether the 
candidate comes within the limits of the objection 
based upon his dotage. Fortunately, it, is rarely 
that a Lodge or its committee will be called upon 
to decide such questions. Old men in their dotage 
are not usually candidates for Masonic initiation. 
And however old an applicant may be, if he is in 
the possession of his healthy mental faculties, his 
age alone will constitute no disqualification. It is 
not the number of his years, but their effect on his 
mind, that is to be the subject of investigation. 

3. As to Bodily Conformation. — There is no part 
of Masonic jurisprudence which has given greater 
occasion to discussion in recent years than that 
which refers to the bcdily conformation which is 
required of the candidate. While some give a 
strict interpretation to the language of the ancient 
Constitutions, and rigorously demand the utmost 
perfection of limbs and members, there are others, 
more lax in their construction, who reject only such 
as are from natural deformity or subsequent injury, 
unable to perform the work of speculative Ma- 
sonry. In a controversy of this kind, the only 
way to settle the question is, to make a careful 
and impartial examination of the authorities on 
which the law which relates to physical conforma- 
tion is founded. 

The first written law that we find on this subject 
is contained in the fifth article of the Gothic Con- 
stitutions, adopted at York, in the year 926, and is 
in these words : 



OF CANDIDATES. 101 

" A candidate must be without blemish, and have the full 
and proper use of his limbs ; for a maimed man can do the 
Craft no good."* 

The next enactment is to be found in the Regula- 
tions of 1663, under the Grand Mastership of the 
Earl of St. Albans, and is in these words : 

" No person hereafter shall be accepted a Freemason but 
such as are of able body." 

The next Regulation, in order of time, is that 
contained in " The Ancient Charges at Makings/ 7 
adopted about the year 1686, the manuscript of 
which was in the possession of the Lodge of Anti- 
quity at London. It is still more explicit than 
those which preceded it, and is in the following 
language : 

" That he that be made be able in all degrees ; that is, free 
born, of a good kindred, true, and no bondsman ; and that 
he have his right limbs as a man ought to have." 

* As this is a matter of great importance, I append the original language 
of this article of the Gothic, or Old York Constitutions, as published by Mr, 
Hnlliwell : 

" The mayster schal not, for no vantage, 

Make no prentes that ys outrage ; 

Hyt ys to mene, as Je mowe here, 

That he have hys lymes hole a lie y-fere ; 

To the craft hyt were gret schame, 

To make an halt mon and a lame ; 

For an unparfyt mon of suche blod, 

Schulde do the craft but lytul good. 

Thus 5e mowe knowe everychon, 

The craft wolde have a myihty mon ; 

A maymed mon he hath no my3ht, 

3e mowe hyt knowe long 3er ny3ht" 



102 THE QUALIFICATIONS 

And lastly, similar declarations, with respect to 
physical ability, are made in the Charges approved 
in 1722, which are as follows : 

" No Master should take an Apprentice unless he has suf- 
ficient employment for him, and unless he be a perfect youth, 
having no maim or defect in his body that may render him 
uncapable of learning the art of serving his Master's lord, 
and of being made a Brother," &c. 

So far, then, the ancient Written Law of Masonry 
seems undoubtedly to have contemplated the neces- 
sity of perfection in the physical conformation of 
candidates, and the inadmissibility of all who had 
any defect of limb or member. In the early part 
of the last century, this opinion must have generally 
prevailed among the Craft ; for, in the second edi- 
tion of the Book of Constitutions, which was edited 
by Dr. Anderson, and, after perusal, approved offi- 
cially by such Masons as Desaguliers, Cowper and 
Payne, the language of the first edition was so 
altered as to leave no doubt of the construction that 
the brethren at that time put upon the clause relat- 
ing to physical qualifications. The Charge in this 
second edition is in the following unmistakable 
words : 

" The men made Masons must be free born, (or no bond- 
men,) of mature ags and of good report, hail and sound, not 
deformed or dismembered at the time of their making.' 1 

When the schism took place in the Grand Lodge 
of England, in 1739, the Athol, or Ancient Masons, 
as they called themselves, adopted this construction 



OF CANDIDATES. 103 

of the law, as is evident from the fact that, in their 
Book of Constitutions, which they published under 
the title of the " Ahiman Rezon," they incorporated 
this Charge, word for word, from Anderson's edi- 
tion of 1738 * 

From that time until very recently, the same 
rigid interpretation has been given to the law of 
physical qualifications, as will appear from the fol- 
lowing analysis of Grand Lodge decisions. 

The " Ahiman Rezon" of the Grand Lodge of 
Pennsylvania, published in 1783, adopts the precise 
language of Anderson's second edition, and there- 
fore requires the candidates to be " hale and sound, 
not deformed or dismembered at the time of their 
making."t 

The same language is used in the " Ahiman Re- 
zon" of North Carolina and Tennessee, published in 
the year 18054 

* See Dermott's " Ahiman Rezon, or a Help to all that are or would 
be Free and Accepted Masons." Lond. 1778, p. 29. Of course this work, 
emanating from a body now acknowledged to have been irregular, can have 
no authority in Masonic law. I quote it, however, to show what was the 
general feeling of the Fraternity, of both sides, on this subject of physical 
qualifications. There was here, at least, no difference of opinion. 

f The Ahiman Rezon, abridged and digested, &c. Published by order 
of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. By William Smith, d.d. Phila., 
1783, p. 28. 

% The Ahiman Rezon and Masonic Ritual. Published by order of the 
Grand Lodge of North Carolina and Tennessee. Newbern, 1805, p. 18. It 
is, in fact, a quotation, and so marked, either from Anderson's second edi- 
tion, or from Dermott. But the same Grand Lodge, in 1851, adopted a 
qualifying explanation, which admitted maimed or dismembered candidates, 
provided their loss or infirmity would not prevent them from making ml* 
proficiency in Masonry. 



104 THE QUALIFICATIONS 

The " Aliiman Rezon" of South Carolina, pub- 
lished in 1807, is still more rigorous in its phraseo- 
logy, and requires that " every person desiring 
admission must be upright in body, not deformed or 
dismembered at the time of making, but of hale and 
entire limbs, as a man ought to be."* It is true 
that the Grand Lodge which issued this work was, 
at the time, an Athol Grand Lodge ; but the subse- 
quent editions of the work, published after the 
Grand Lodge of South Carolina had become regu- 
lar, in 1822 and 1852, retain the same language,'!' 
and the law has always been rigidly enforced in 
that jurisdiction. 

The more recent opinions of a great number of 
modern Grand Lodges, or of the enlightened Masons 
who have composed their Committees on Corres- 
pondence, concur in the decision that the candidate 
for Masonry must be perfect and sound in all his 
limbs. 

The Grand Lodge of Missouri, in 1823, unani- 
mously adopted the report of a committee of that 
body, which required, as a physical qualification of 
candidates for initiation, that they should be " sound 
in mind and all their members ;" and at the same 
time a resolution was enacted, declaring that " the 
Grand Lodge cannot grant a letter of dispensation 

* An Ahiman Eezon, for the use of the Grand Lodge of South Carolina. 
By Bro. Frederick Dalcho, m. d. Charleston, 1807, p. 17. 

t The Ahiman Bezon, or Boole of Constitutions of the Grand Lodge of 
Ancient Freemasons of South Carolina. Edited by Albert G. Mackey, 
ji. r». Charleston, 1852, p. 57. 



OF CANDIDATES. 105 

to a subordinate Lodge, working under its jurisdic 
tion, to initiate any person maimed, disabled, or 
wanting the qualifications established by ancient 
usage.* 

The Committee of Correspondence of the Grand 
Lodge of Georgia, in 1848, made this candid ad- 
mission : " The conviction has been forced upon our 
minds, even against our wills, that we depart from 
the ancient Landmarks and usages of Masonry 
whenever we admit an individual wanting in one 
of the human senses, or who is in any particular 
maimed or deformed. "f 

In 1846, the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge 
of Indiana, in cautioning his brethren against the 
laxity with which the regulations relating to physi- 
cal and other qualifications were sometimes inter- 
preted, remarked as follows : " Let not any one 
who has not all the qualifications required by our 
Constitutions and Regulations, be admitted. See 
that they are perfect men in body and mind. "J 

The Grand Lodge of Maryland, in 1848, adopted 
a resolution requiring its subordinates, in the initia- 
tion of candidates, " to adhere to the ancient law, 
(as laid down in our printed books,) which says he 
shall be of entire limbs."§ 

The Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New 
Jersey, (Bro. John P. Lewis,) in his annual address, 

* Proceedings G. L. of Missouri, 1823, p. 5. 
t Proceedings G. L. of Georgia, 1848, p. 3G. 
i Proceedings G. L. of Ind., 184G. 
§ Proceedings G. L. of Md., Nov., 1S43 

5* 



106 THE QUALIFICATIONS 

in 1849, made the following very pertinent remarks 
on this subject : 

" I received from the Lodge at Ashley a petition to initiate 
into our Order a gentleman of high respectability, who un- 
fortunately has been maimed. I refused my assent. . . . 
I have also refused a similar request from the Lodge of which 
I am a member. The fact that the most distinguished Ma- 
sonic body on earth has recently removed one of the Land- 
marks, should teach us to be careful how we touch those 
ancient boundaries."* 

The Grand Lodge of Florida, at one time, was 
disposed to permit the initiation of maimed candi- 
dates, with certain restrictions, and accordingly 
adopted a provision in its constitution to that effect ; 
but subsequently, to borrow the language of Bro. T. 
Brown, the Grand Master, " more mature reflection 
and more light reflected from our sister Grand 
Lodges, caused it to be stricken from our consti- 
tution.'^ 

On the other hand, there appears to be among 
some Masons a strong disposition to lay aside the 
ancient Regulation, or at least so to qualify it as to 
take from it all its distinctive signification, and, by 
a qualification of the clause, to admit maimed or de- 
formed persons, provided that their maim or de- 
formity be not of such a grievous nature as to 
prevent them from complying with all the requisi- 

* Proceedings G. L. of N. J., 1849. In the last sentence, lie alludes to 
the Grand Lodge of England, which substituted the word " free" for " fret 
born" in the old larges. 

t Proc. G. I u ol Fla. Address of Grand Master Brown. 



OF CANDIDATES. 107 

tions of the Masonic ritual.* This tendency to a 
manifest innovation arose from a mistaken view 
that the present system of speculative Masonry is 
founded on one that was formerly altogether opera- 
tive in its character ; and that as the physical 
qualifications originally referred solely to operative 
Masons, they could not be expected now to apply 
to the disciples of an entirely speculative science. 

This opinion, erroneous as it is. has been very 
well set forth by the Committee of Correspondence 
of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina, in the fol- 
lowing language : 

" When Masonry was an operative institution — when her 
members were a fraternity of working men — monopolizing 
the architecture of the world, it was improper to introduce 
into the Fraternity any who were defective in limb or mem- 
ber ; for such imperfection would have prevented them from 
performing the duties of operative Masons. In j)rocess of 
time, the operative feature gave place to the speculative, when 
the reason for excluding maimed candidates no longer exist- 
ing, there was no impropriety in receiving them, provided 
their deformity, maim or infirmity, was not of such a nature 
as to prevent them from studying and appreciating specula- 
tive Masonry."f 

Again : in a similar spirit of lax observance, and 
with the same mistaken views of the origin of the 

* Thus the Constitution of the Grand Lodge of Ohio says : " When the 
physical disabilities of a candidate are not such as to prevent him from being 
initiated into the several degrees and mysteries of Freemasonry, his admis- 
sion shall not be construed an infringement of the ancient Landmarks ; bat ; 
on the contrary, will be perfectly consistent with the spirit of the institution.' 
— 17th Regulation. 

t Proc. G. k of N. C, 1843. Report of Com. of Corresp., p. 104. 



108 THE QUALIFICATIONS 

institution, the Committee of the Grand Lodge of 
Mississippi, in 1845, made the following remarks : 

" Masonry originated in an age of the world comparatively 
rude and barbarous, at a time when strength of body was 
more valued than vigor of intellect. It was instituted by an 
association of men united together for the prosecution of 
physical labors. But even at this early period, their ties and 
obligations were fraternal. This made them solicitous to 
exclude from the Fraternity all who were likely to become 
burdensome, rather than useful, and consequently to require 
that initiates should be whole in body as well as sound in 
mind. But the world has changed, and Masonry has changed. 
A subsistence is now more easily obtained by mental endow- 
ments than by physical perfection. This institution has now 
become speculative and moral : it has entirely lost its opera- 
tive character. The reason for requiring bodily perfection 
in candidates has ceased to exist. "f 

This supposed change of our institution from an 
entirely operative to an entirely speculative charac- 
ter — a supposition that has no foundation in history 
or tradition — appears to be the only reason that 
has ever been urged for the abrogation of an ancient 
law, and the abandonment of an universal usage. 
The argument has been repeatedly answered and 
overthrown by distinguished Masonic writers, but 
never more ably than by Bro. Yates, of New York, 
and by Bro. Rockwell, of Georgia. 

Bro. Giles P. Yates, as Chairman of a Special 
Committee of the Grand Lodge of New York, 
makes the following admirable remarks on the pro- 

t Proc. G. L. of Miss., 1845, p. 54. Report of Special Com. The report 
was agreed to, 



OF CANDIDATES. 109 

positions emanating from the Committee of tlie 
Grand Lodge of Mississippi : 

" Freemasonry, in its original institution, was not ' formed 
by an association of men exclusively for the prosecution of 
physical labors.' It has always been speculative and moral. 
The secret societies of antiquity, from which we can trace a 
lineal descent, were not devoted exclusively to the physical 
labors attendant upon the erection of buildings, whether of 
wood or stone. They were the depositories of other arts 
and sciences besides architecture. They moreover taught 
sublime truths and duties towards God and regarding the 
world to come, as well as towards our neighbors, and the 
' brothers of the mystic tie.' Our ancient brethren were, in 
effect, more eminently speculative or spiritual than operative 
or practical Masons. Those take too contracted a view of 
the subject who infer that, because in the sixteenth century 
and previous, the York architects in England Avere the al- 
most exclusive conservators of certain essentials in our mys- 
teries ; therefore the reason .of the law in question had 
reference in olden times to operative Masons only. The ra- 
tionale of the law, excluding persons physically imperfect 
and deformed, lies* deeper, and is more ancient than the 
source ascribed to it. It is grounded on a principle recog- 
nized in the earliest ages of the world, and will be found 
identical with that which obtained among the ancient Jews. 
In this respect the Levitical law was the same as the Masonic, 
which would not allow any ' to go in unto the veil' who had 
a blemish — a blind man, or a lame, or a man that was broken 
footed or broken handed, or a dwarf," &c* 

In the ' proceedings of the Grand Lodge of 
Georgia, for the year 1852, is to be found an able 
report, by Bro. W. S. Rockwe?l, then the Chairman 

*,Proc. G. L. of N. Y., 1843 ; p. 37. 



110 THE QUALIFICATIONS 

of the Committee of Correspondence, in which he 
discusses the question of the admission of maimed 
candidates. After tracing the existence of this law 
to remote antiquity, and finding it in the Egyptian 
and Mosaic rites, he proceeds to discuss its symbolic 
meaning in the following language : 

" Aside from the argument derived from the letter of the 
laiv, its relaxation destroys, m an eminent degree, the sym- 
bolical relation of the Mason to his Order. The writer of 
these views has often had occasion to note the consistent 
harmony of the entire ritual of the Craft in considering the 
esoteric signification of its expressive symbols. We teach 
the neophyte that the wonderful structure which rose by the 
command of Solomon to be the visible dwelling place of the 
God of Israel, was built ' without the sound of axe or ham- 
mer, or other tool of iron being heard in the building,' wooden 
instruments alone being used to fix the stones, of which it 
was constructed, in their proper place. ' Stone and rock,' says 
Portal, ' on account of the hardness and the use to which 
they were put, became (among the Egyptians) the symbol 
of a firm and stable foundation. Relying on the interpreta- 
tion of the Hebrew, by one of the most celebrated Hebrew 
scholars of Germany, we shall consider the stone as the sym- 
bol of faith and truth. Precious stones in the Bible expressly 
bear the signification of Truth. Of this the Apocalypse 
furnishes many examples. The monuments of Egypt call 
precious stones the hard stones of truth. By contrast to the 
signification of truth and faith, the stone also received, in 
Egypt and the Bible, the signification of error and impiety, 
and was dedicated among the Egyptians to. the Infernal 
Spirit, the author of all falsehood. The stone specially con- 
secrated to Seth or Typhon, the Infernal Deity, was the cut 
stone ; and this species of stone received, in the language of 
the monuments, the name of Seth (Satan). The symbol of 
Truth was the hard, stone; that of Error, the soft stone, which 



OF CANDIDATES. Ill 

could be cut.' The same symbolism appears to have existed 
among the Hebrews : ' If thou wilt make me an altar of stone, 
thou shalt not build it of hewn stone,' was the command of 
Jehovah ; ' for if thou lift thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted 
it' (Ex. xx. 25.) ' Thou shalt build the altar of the Lord 
thy God of whole stones' (Deut. xxvii. 4.) That is, unhewn 
stones, and of whole stones, (literally perfect stones), trans- 
lated in our version, ' of stones made ready before it was 
brought thither,' did Solomon build the Holy of Holies. It 
was eminently proper that a temple erected for the worship 
of the God of Truth, the unchangeable I am, should be con- 
structed of whole stones, perfect stones, the universally 
recognized symbols of this his great and constant attribute. 
The symbolic relation of each member of the Order to its 
mystic temple, forbids the idea that its constituent portions, 
its living stones, should be less perfect, or less a type of 
their great original, than the inanimate material which formed 
the earthly dwelling place of the God of their adoration. 
We, the successors of those who received their initiatory 
rites at the hands of Moses and Solomon, received also, with 
this inestimable inheritance, the same symbols, and with the 
same expressive signification. 

" Enough has been said to show at how remote a period in 
the history of Masonry this important Landmark was erected. 
Can man, in his short-sighted notions of convenience, vary 
its meaning? — can a Mason, the solemnly installed Master of 
a Lodge of his brethren and equals, consistent with the obli- 
gations he has voluntarily imposed upon himself, remove it 
from its place ?"* 

With this thorough view of the historical and 
.symbolical reasons upon which the ancient usage is 
founded, it is astonishing that any Grand Lodge 
should have declared that when the maim or defect 

* Proc G. T,. of Geo., 1852. 



112 THE QUALIFICATIONS 

is not such as to prevent the candidate from com- 
plying with the ritual ceremonies of Masonry, he 
may be initiated.* No such qualifying clause is to 
be found in any of the old Constitutions. Such a 
liberal interpretation would give entrance in many 
Lodges to candidates who, though perhaps in pos- 
session of their legs and arms, would still be marked 
with some other of those blemishes and deformities 
which are expressly enumerated by Moses as causes 
of exclusion from the priesthood, and would thus 
utterly subvert the whole symbolism of the law.t 
It cannot be obeyed in a half way manner. If ob- 
served at all, (and the omission to observe it would 
be an innovation,) it must be complied with to the 
letter. In the language of Dr. Clarke, a portion 
of whose remarks have been quoted by Bro. Rock- 
well, the law excluding a man having any blemishes 
or deformities, is " founded on reason, propriety, 



* Thus, Bro. H. W. Walter, the D. G. M. of the Grand Lodge of Missis- 
sippi in 1845, says : " We may safely conclude that a loss or partial depriva- 
tion of those physical organs which minister alone to the action of the body, 
do not disqualify ; but that the loss of those upon which the mind depends 
for its ideas of external objects, certainly would." — Proc. G. L. of Miss., 
1845, p. 12. I quote this very singular opinion simply to show into what in- 
extricable confusion we are likely to be led, the instant we begin to make a 
compromise between the stern dictates of the law and the loose interpreta- 
tions of expediency. Under this construction a deaf man could not be initia- 
ted, but one with both legs amputated at the hip joint could. 

f " We consider this construction altogether gratuitous, and a grave objeo 
tion to it is its indefiniteness for all practical purposes. If the interpretation 
be correct, it may pertinently be asked, what degree of disability must be 
established — a quarter, half, three-fourths, or total? There is no such con- 
dition or proviso to the rule in question laid down in the Book of Constitu 
tions."— Giles F. Yates, Special Report to G. L. of N. Y., 1845, p. W- 



OF CANDIDATES. 118 

common sense, and absolute necessity." Moreover, 
in Masonry, it is founded on the Landmarks, and is 
illustrative of the symbolism of the Order, and 
will, therefore, admit of no qualifications. The 
candidate for initiation " must," to use the language 
of the Gothic Constitutions of 926, " be without 
blemish, and have the full and proper use of his 
limbs." 

It is usual, in the most correct rituals of the third 
degree, especially to name eunuchs, as being incap- 
able of initiation. In none of the old Constitutions 
and Charges is this class of persons alluded to by 
name, although of course they are comprehended 
in the general prohibition against making persons 
who have any blemish or maim. However, in the 
Charges which were published by Dr. Anderson, in 
his second edition, they are included in the list of 
prohibited candidates.* It is probable from this 
that at that time it was usual to name them in the 
point of the OB. referred to ; and this presump- 
tion derives strength from the fact that Dermott, in 
copying his Charges from those of Anderson's 
second edition, added a note complaining of the 
" moderns' 7 for having disregarded this ancient law, 
in at least one instance.! The question is, how- 

* " The men made Masons must be free born, (or no bondmen,) of mature 
age, and of good report, hale and sound, not deformed or dismembered at 
the time of their making. But no woman, no eunuch." — Anderson, second 
edition, p. 144. The Grand Lodge of New York has incorporated this clause 
into its Constitution : § 8, par. 9. It is also found in the " Ahiman Rezon" 
of South Carolina, and some other States. 

f Dermott says, in the note referred to : ' This is still the law of ancien* 



114 THE QUALIFICATIONS 

ever, not worth discussion, except as a matter of 
ritual history, since the legal principle is already 
determined that eunuchs cannot be initiated because 
they are not perfect men, " having no maim or de- 
fect in their bodies." 

Mental Qualifications. 

The ancient Constitutions are silent, except per- 
haps by implication, on tne subject of the mental 
qualifications of candidates ; and we are led to our 
conclusions simply by a consideration of the charac- 
ter of the institution and by the dictates of common 
sense, as to who are capable of appreciating the 
nature of our system, for they alone, it is to be sup- 
posed, are competent to become its disciples. The 
question which is first to be answered is, what 
amount of talent and of mental cultivation are 
necessary to qualify a person for initiation ? 

Dr. Oliver tells us that Masonry is an order " in 
which the pleasing pursuits of science are blended 
with morality and virtue on the one hand, and be- 
nevolence and charity on the other." And Lawrie 
declares that its object is " to inform the minds of 
its members by instructing them in the sciences and 
useful arts." Smith, Hutchinson, Preston, and other 
more recent writers, all concur in giving a scientific 
and literary character to the institution. 

Masons, though disregarded by our brethren, (I mean our sisters) the mo- 
dern Masons, who (some years ago) admitted Signor Singsong, the eunuch, 
T-nd-ci,at one of their Lodges in the Strand, London. And upon a late 
trial at Westminster, it appeared that they admitted a woman called Madam 
D'E " ^-Dermott, Ahiman Hezon, p. 29. 



OF CANDIDATES. 115 

It does not, however, follow from this that none 
but scientific and literary men are qualified to he 
made Masons. To become a master of Masonic 
science — to acquire the station of a " teacher in 
Israel 77 — it is certainly necessary that there should 
be first laid a foundation of profane learning, on 
which the superstructure of Masonic wisdom is to 
be erected. But all Masons cannot expect to reach 
this elevated point ; very few aspire to it • and 
there must still remain a great mass of the Frater- 
nity who will be content with the mere rudiments 
of our science. But even to these, some prepara- 
tory education appears to be necessary. A totally 
ignorant man cannot be even a " bearer of burdens 77 
in the temple of Masonry. 

The modern Constitutions of the Grand Lodge 
of England are explicit on this subject ; for, in de- 
scribing the qualifications of a candidate, they say 
that " he should be a lover of the liberal arts and 
sciences, and must have made some progress in one 
or other of them. 77 This rule, however, it is well 
known, is constantly disregarded ; and men with- 
out any pretensions to liberal education are con- 
stantly initiated in England. 

In a note to this clause of the Constitution, it is 
added, that " any individual who cannot write, is 
consequently ineligible to be admitted into the 
Order. 77 This rule is perhaps more rigorously ob- 
served than the other ; and yet I have known a few 
instances in which men incapable of writing have 
been initiated. And it was in reference to a fact 



116 THE QUALIFICATIONS 

of this kind that the Grand Lodge of South Caro- 
lina, in 1848, declared that though " there is no in- 
junction in the ancient Constitutions prohibiting 
the initiation of persons who are unable to read or 
write ; yet, as speculative Masonry is a scienti- 
fic institution, the Grand Lodge would discourage 
the initiation of such candidates as highly inex- 
pedient." 

It may be said in reply, that in the early days of 
Freemasonry, the arts of reading and writing were 
not generally disseminated among the masses of the 
people, and that in all probability the great ma- 
jority of the Craft were not in possession of those 
literary qualifications. But this latter statement is 
a gratuitous assumption, of the correctness of which 
we have no proof. On the contrary, we find 
throughout all our ancient Regulations, that a dis- 
tinction was made by our rulers between the Free- 
masons and those who were not free, indicating 
that the former were of a superior class ; and may 
we not suppose that a rudimentary education formed 
a part at least of that claim to superiority? Thus, 
in the conclusion of the fifth chapter of the Charges, 
approved in 1722, it is said : " No laborer shall be 
employed in the common work of Masonry, nor 
shall Freemasons work with those who are not free, 
without an urgent necessity." 

But, exclusive of the written law upon the sub- 
ject, which perhaps was silent, because it deemed 
so evident and uniformly observed a regulation un- 
necessary to be written, we are abundantly tatierfc* 



OF CANDIDATES. 117 

t>y the nature of the institution, as exemplified in its 
ritual, that persons who cannot read and write are 
ineligible for initiation. In the first degree, a test 
is administered, the offering of which would be 
manifestly absurd, if the person to whom it was 
offered could neither read nor write ; and in the 
presentation of the letter G, and all the instructions 
on that important symbol, it must be taken for 
granted that the candidate who is invested with 
them must be acquainted with the nature and power 
of letters. 

Idiots and madmen, although again the written 
law is silent upon the subject, are excluded by the 
ritual law from initiation, and this from the evident 
reason that the powers of understanding are in the 
one instance absent, and in the other perverted, so 
that they are both incapable of comprehending the 
principles of the institution, and are without any 
moral responsibility for a violation or neglect of its 
duties. 

It has sometimes been mooted as a question, 
whether a person, having once been insane, and then 
restored to health, is admissible as a candidate. 
The reply to the question depends on the fact 
whether the patient has been fully restored or not. 
If he has, he is no longer insane, and does not come 
within the provisions of the law, which looks only 
to the present condition, mental, physical or moral, 
of the candidate. If he has not, and if his apparent 
recovery is only what medical men call a lucid in- 
terval, then the disease of insanity, although not 



118 THE QUALIFICATIONS 

actually evident, is still there, but dormant, and the 
individual cannot be initiated. This is a matter 
the determination of which is so simple, that I 
should not have even alluded to it, were it not that 
it was once proposed to me as a question of Masonic 
law, which the Lodge proposing it had not been 
able satisfactorily to solve. 

Political Qualifications. 

The political qualifications of candidates are those 
which refer to their position in society. To only 
one of these do any of the ancient Constitu- 
tions allude. We learn from them that the can- 
didate for the mysteries of Masonry must be " free 
born." 

As far back as the year 926, this Regulation was 
in force ; for the Old York or Gothic Constitutions, 
which were adopted in that year, contain the fol- 
lowing as the fourth article : 

" The son of a bondman shall not be admitted as an Ap- 
prentice, lest, when he is introduced into the Lodge, any of 
the brethren should be offended." 

Subsequently, in the Charges approved in 1722, it 
is declared that " the persons admitted members of 
a Lodge must be free born." And there never has 
been any doubt that this was the ancient law and 
usage of the Order. 

In the ancient Mysteries, which are generally sup- 
posed to be the prototype of the Masonic institution, 
a similar law prevailed • and no slave, or man hovn 



OF CANDIDATES. 119 

in slavery, although afterwards manumitted, could 
be initiated.* 

The reason assigned in the old York Constitu- 
tions for this Regulation, does not appear to be the 
correct one. 

Slaves and persons born in servitude are not 
initiated, because, in the first place, as respects 
the former class, their servile condition renders 
them legally incapable of making a contract ; in 
the second place, because the admission of slaves 
among freemen would be a violation of that social 
equality in the Lodge which constitutes one of the 
Landmarks of Masonry ; and in the third place, as 
respects both classes — the present slave and the 
freedman who was born in slavery — because the 
servile condition is believed to be necessarily accom- 
panied by a degradation of mind and an abasement 
of spirit which unfit them to be recipients of the 
sublime doctrines of Freemasonry. It is in view 
of this theory that Dr. Oliver has remarked, that 
" children cannot inherit a free and noble spirit ex- 
cept they be born of a free woman." And the 
ancient Greeks, who had much experience with this 
class of beings, were of the same opinion ; for they 
coined a word, SovXotfpsirsta, or slave-manners, to desig- 
nate any great impropriety of manners, because such 

* " The requisites for initiation were, that a man should be a free born 
denizen of the country, as well as of irreproachable morals. Hence, neither 
slaves nor foreigners could be admitted to the peculiar mysteries of any na- 
tion, because the doctrines were considered cf too much value to be entrusted 
to the custody of those who had no interest in the general welfare of the 
community." — Oliver, Landmarks, vol. i. p. 110. 



120 THE QUALIFICATIONS 

conduct was supposed to characterize the helots, or 
slaves. 

But Masonic writers have also given a less prac- 
tical reason, derived from the symbolism of the 
Order, for the restriction of the right of initiation 
to the free born. It is in this way supposed that 
the Regulation alludes to the two sons of Abraham — ■ 
Isaac, by his wife Sarah, and Ishmael, by his bond- 
woman, Hagar. This is the explanation that was 
given in the old Prestonian Lectures j* but I am in- 
clined to believe that the practical reason is the 
best one. The explanation in the Lectures was de- 
rived from the usage, for the latter certainly long 
preceded the former. 

The Regulations of the Grand Lodge of England 
carry this idea of freedom of action to its fullest 
extent, and declare that " it is inconsistent with the 
principles of Masonry for any Freemason's Lodge 
to be held for the purposes of making, passing, or 
raising Masons in any prison or place of confine- 
ment." This resolution was adopted in consequence 
Df a Lodge having been held in 1782, in the King's 

* Thus the oid English Lectures speak of " that grand festival which Abra- 
tam made at the weaning of his son Isaac, when Sarah, seeing Ishmael, the 
son of Hagar, the Eg}'ptian boudwoman, mocking, teazing and perplexing 
her son, (and fearing, if they were brought up together, that Isaac might im- 
bibe some of Ishmael's slavish principles,) she remonstrated with Abraham 
saying, ' Put away this bondwoman and her son, for such shall not inherit 
with our free born.' Besides, she well knew, by Divine inspiration, that from 
Isaac's loins would spring a great and mighty people, who would serve the 
Lord with freedom, fervency and zeal ; and it is generally remarked, even 
at this time, that the minds of slaves are less enlightened than those of the 
free born." 



OF CANDIDATES. 121 

Bench prison. No such Regulation has ever been 
adopted in this country, perhaps because there . has 
been no occasion for it. The ancient Constitutions 
are also silent upon the subject ; but there seems little 
reason for doubting the correctness of the sentiment 
that Lodges should only be held in places where the 
utmost freedom of ingress and egress prevails. 

A few years ago, the Grand Lodge of England 
undertook to change the language of the old 
Charges, and to interpolate the word "free" for 
" free born," by which means manumitted slaves, the 
children of bondwomen, were rendered eligible for 
initiation. This unwarranted innovation, which was 
undoubtedly a sacrifice to expediency, has met with 
the general condemnation of the Grand Lodges of 
this country. 

We conclude this chapter on the qualifications of 
candidates with this summary : — The person who 
desires to be made a Mason must be a man* — no 
woman nor eunuch ;t free born ;% neither a slave 
nor the son of a bondwoman ; a believer in God 
and a future existence ;§ of moral conduct ;|| capable 
of reading and writing ;^f not deformed or dismem- 
bered, but hale and sound in his physical conforma- 
tion, having his right limbs, as a man ought to have.** 

* Charges of 1722, Xo. iii. 

t Deduced from analogy and from Akdersox's second edit., p. 144. 

i Old York Constitutions, art. 4, and all subsequent Constitutions. 

§ Charges of 1722 and Landmarks 19 and 20, ante p. 32. 

11 Charges of 1722, Xo. iii. 

TT Deduced from ritual observances and the nature of the institution. 

** EeguJarions of 1663, Xo. ii. 

6 



CHAPTER II. 
STfje petition at Cantritrates, 

A candidate, qualified in the way described in 
the preceding chapter, and being desirous of admis- 
sion into the Order, must apply to the Lodge near- 
est to his place of residence, by means of a petition 
signed by himself, and recommended by at least two 
members of the Lodge to which, he applies. 

This is the simple statement of the law ; but 
there are several points in it which require further 
consideration. 

In the first place, he must apply by written peti- 
tion. No verbal nomination of a candidate will be 
sufficient. The petition must be written, because it 
is to be preserved by the Secretary in the archives 
of the Lodge, as an evidence of the fact of applica- 
tion, which, in the event of a rejection of the appli- 
cant, or, as he is more usually called, the petitioner, 
may become of some importance. The form of the 
petition is also to be attended to. I am not of the 
opinion that a oetition, drawn up in a form differ- 
ent from that usually adopted, would be liable to 
rejection for a want of formality ; and yet, as ex- 
perience has caused a particular form to be adopted, 



THE PETITION OF CAXDIDATE3. 123 

it is better and more convenient that that form 
should be adhered to. The important and essential 
points of the petition are, that it shall declare the 
place of residence, the age, and the occupation of 
the petitioner.* These declarations are made that 
the committee to whom the petition is to be re- 
ferred for inquiry, may be materially assisted in 
their investigations by this identification of the 
petitioner. 

The petition must be signed in the handwriting 
of the petitioner. This appears to be the general 
usage, and has the sanction of all ritual writers. t 
The Grand Lodge of England expressly requires it 
to be done,! and assigns, in its Constitutions, as a 
necessary deduction from the requisition, that those 

* The form laid down by Webb, in bis " Freemason's [Monitor/' is tbat 
usually adopted in ibis country, and is unobjectionable for brevity and suf- 
ficiency. It is in tbese words : 

" To the Worshipful Master, Wardens and Brethren of Lodge, Xo. — 

of Free and Accepted Masons. 

" The petition of the subscriber respectfully sheweth, that having long 
entertained a favorable opinion of your ancient institution, he is desirous of 
being a member thereof, if found worthy. 

" His place of residence is ; his age, years ; his occupa- 
tion [Signed] 

" A. B." 

t " The declaration to be assented to by every candidate previous to ini- 
tiation, and to be subscribed by his name at full length."- — Preston, Ol, ed., 
p. 32. " All applications for initiations should be made by petition in writ- 
ing, signed by the applicant." — Webb. p. 31. " Every person 

shall be proposed by a member, in writing, which shall be signed by the can- 
didate."— Dalcho, p. 31. " The candidate is required to 

sign the following form of petition." — Dove, JIasonic Text Book, p. 150. 
But it is unnecessary to multiply quotations. 

% " He must, previous to his initiation, subscribe his name at full length U 
a declaration."— Constitutions of the G. L. of England, ed. 1845, p. 86. 



124 THE PETITION 

who cannot write are ineligible for initiation.* 
Mucli carelessness, however, exists in relation to 
this usage, and it is by no means an uncommon 
practice for a member to sign a petition on behalf 
and at the request of the petitioner. This practice 
is, nevertheless, to be condemned. The signature 
should always be made by the applicant himself. 
In this way, if there were no other good reason, we 
should at least avoid the intrusion of wholly unedu- 
cated persons into the fraternity. 

The petition must be recommended by at least 
two members of the Lodge. Preston requires the 
signature to be witnessed by one person, (he does 
not say whether he must be a member of the Lodge 
or not,) and that the candidate must be proposed in 
open Lodge by a member.f Webb says that " the 
candidate must be proposed in form, by a member 
of the Lodge, and the proposition seconded by 
another member."^ Cross, whose " Masonic Chart" 
gradually superseded that of Webb in this country, 
(principally on account of its numerous illustra- 
tions, for otherwise it is an inferior work,) says that 
a recommendation, the form of which he gives, " is 
to be signed by two members of the Lodge,"§ and 
he dispenses with the formal proposition. These 
gradual changes, none of them, however, substan- 

* In a note to the Constitutions, as above cited, it is added: " Any indi' 
vidual who cannot write is consequently ineligible to be admitted into the 
Order." 

f Pkeston, " Illustrations," p. 32. 

i Webb, " Monitor," p. 32. 

§ Cross, " True Masonic Chart," p. 13. 



OF CANDIDATES. 125 

tially affecting the principle, have at last resulted in 
the present simpler usage, which is, for two mem- 
bers of the Lodge to affix their names to the peti- 
tion, as recommenders of the applicant. 

The application must be made to the Lodge 
nearest the candidate's place of residence. This is 
now the general usage in this country, and may be 
considered as Masonic custom by almost universal 
consent. It must, however, be acknowledged, that 
no express law upon this subject is to be found 
either in the Ancient Landmarks or the Old Consti- 
tutions, and its positive sanction as a law in any 
jurisdiction, must be found in the local enactments 
of the Grand Lodge of that jurisdiction. Still 
there can be no doubt that expediency and justice to 
the Order make such a regulation necessary, be- 
cause it is only in the neighborhood of his own resi- 
dence that the character of a candidate can be 
thoroughly investigated ; and hence, if permitted to 
apply for initiation in remote places, there is danger 
that unworthy persons might sometimes be intro- 
duced into the Lodges. Accordingly, many of the 
Grand Lodges of America have- incorporated such 
a regulation into their Constitutions," and of course, 



* " Subordinate Lodges shall not receive a petition for initiation from an 
applicant who lives nearer to another Lodge than the one he petitions, with- 
out first obtaining the unanimous consent of the other Lodge at a regular 
meeting."— Grand Lodge of Illinois. " No candidate shall be received in 
any Lodge but the one nearest his residence.''— £. L. of Ohio. California 
requires the applicant to have resided in the state for twelve months, and it 
the jurisdiction of the Lodge for three months. Nearly all the Grand Lodge* 
have made a similar regulation. 



126 THE PETITION 

wherever this has been done, it becomes a positive 
law in that jurisdiction. 

As a corollary to this last mentioned regulation, 
ii follows, that a non-resident of a state is not en- 
titled, on a temporary visit to that state, to apply 
for initiation. But on this point I speak with much 
hesitation, for I candidly confess that I find no 
Landmark nor written law in the Ancient Constitu- 
tions which forbids the initiation of non-residents. 
Still, as there can be no question that the conferring 
of the degrees of Masonry on a stranger is always 
inexpedient, and frequently productive of injury 
and injustice, by foisting on the Lodges near the 
candidate's residence an unworthy and unacceptable 
person, whose only opportunity of securing admis- 
sion into the Order was by offering himself in a 
place where 'the unworthiness of his character was 
unknown, there has consequently been, within the 
last few years, a very general disposition among 
the Grand Lodges of this country to discountenance 
the initiation of non-residents. Many of them have 
adopted a specific regulation to this effect, and in 
all jurisdictions where this has been done, the law 
becomes imperative ; for, as the Landmarks are 
entirely silent on the subject, the local regulation is 
left to the discretion of each jurisdiction. 

But a few Grand Lodges have extended their 
regulations on this subject to what I cannot but 
conceive to be an indefensible limit, and declared, 
that residents of their own jurisdiction, who have 
thus been initiated in foreign states, shall be 



OF CANDIDATES. 127 

deemed to be illegally or clandestinely made ; and 
shall not, on their return home, be admitted to the 
rights of Masonry, or be recognized as Masons. 

This regulation, I have said, is indefensible, be- 
cause it is exercising jurisdiction, not simply over 
Lodges and Masons, but also over the profane, for 
which exercise of jurisdiction there is and can be 
no authority. The Grand Lodge of Missouri, for 
instance, may declare whom its Lodges may, and 
whom they may not initiate, because every Grand 
Lodge has supreme jurisdiction over its subordi- 
nates ; but it cannot prescribe to a profane that he 
shall not be initiated in the State of New York, if 
the Grand Lodge of that state permits one of its. 
subordinates to receive him, because this would be 
exercising jurisdiction, not only over a Lodge in 
another state, but over persons who are not mem- 
bers of the craft. If the Grand Lodge of New 
York should permit the initiation of non-residents, 
there is no authority to be found in the Landmarks 
or Constitutions of the Order under which the 
Grand Lodge of Missouri could claim to interfere 
with that regulation, or forbid an uninitiated citizen 
of St. Louis from repairing to New York and ap- 
plying for initiation. Missouri may declare that it 
will not initiate the residents of New York, but 
it cannot compel New York to adopt a similar 
rule. 

Well, then, if New York has the power of enact- 
ing a law permitting the initiation of non-residents, 
or if, which is the same thing, she has enacted no 



128 THE PETITION 

law forbidding it, then clearly such initiation is 
legal and regular, and the non-residents so made 
must everywhere be considered as regular Masons, 
entitled to all the rights and privileges of the fra- 
ternity.* The Grand Lodge of Missouri, then, (to 
follow up the special reference with which this 
argument was commenced,) cannot, under any color 
of law or reason, deny the validity of such making, 
or refuse the rights of Masonry to a candidate so 
made. How, then, it will be asked, is the evil to 
be remedied, when an unworthy person, temporarily 
removing from his own home for that very purpose, 
shall have applied to a distant Lodge in another 
jurisdiction, and which, in ignorance of his true 
character, shall have admitted him ? The answer 
is plain. On his return to his usual residence, as a 
Mason, he comes at once under the jurisdiction of 
the nearest Lodge ; and if his unworthiness and im- 
morality continues, he may be tried and expelled. 
The remedy, it is true, entails the additional trouble 
of a trial on the Lodge, but this is a better course 
than by declaring his making illegal, to violate the 

* A well founded conviction of the evils which often result from the initia- 
tion of non-resideuts, has sometimes led to the enunciation of doctrines which 
cannot be sustained by Masonic law. Thus, in 1854, the Committee of Cor- 
respondence of the Grand Lodge of Michigan recommended the adoption 
of a resolution protesting against the practice of Lodges in other jurisdictions, 
conferring degrees on persons not residing in their jurisdiction, and instruct- 
ing the Lodges in Michigan " to hold no Masonic communication with those 
who may receive the degrees, in disregard of such protest." The Grand 
Lodge adopted the first and second clauses of this recommendation, but 
wisely declined to endorse the third. — Proc. G. L. of Mich., 1854 pp* 
26-44. 



OF CANDIDATES. 129 

principles of Masonic jurisprudence, and to act dis- 
courteously to a neighboring jurisdiction. 

It was necessary, for the lucidity of the argument, 
and to avoid circumlocution, to refer to particular 
Grand Lodges by name. Any others would, for 
this purpose, have done just as well, and accom- 
plished the object intended, or I might have refer- 
red to the Grand Lodges of A and B ; but I have 
selected those of Missouri and New York from the 
historical fact, that a few years ago, this very prin- 
ciple was the subject of an animated controversy 
between these two highly intelligent bodies.* After 
all, as the question is a vexed one, and as the prac- 
tice of initiating non-residents is liable to great 
abuse, it is to be wished that every Grand Lodge 
would exercise that power which it rightly pos- 
sesses, and forbid its own subordinates to initiate 

* The circumstances of this case were as follows : — " A resident of St. 
Louis, (Mo.,) whose application for initiation had been rejected, was on a 
temporary visit to New York in the year 1852, admitted into the Order by 
one of the Lodges of that city. This act was received with much disap- 
probation by the Masons of Missouri, and the person who had been made in 
New York, on his return to St. Louis, was refused admission into the Lodges. 
There was considerable discussion of the subject between the parties most 
interested, and in the proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Missouri, for that 
year, there is a well written report emanating from the able pen of my 
friend and brother, the Grand Secretary of that jurisdiction. In this report, 
Bro. Sullivan has contended for the principle, that every Grand Lodge pos- 
sesses jurisdiction over not only the Masons within its geographical limits, 
but even over all who are eligible to be made Masons. The Grand Lodge, 
in accordance with the recommendation of the committee, adopted a resolu- 
tion, declaring that no Lodge, under its jurisdiction, shall recognize, as a reg- 
ular made Mason, a resident of the state, who may, during a temporary 
absence therefrom, receive the degrees in Masonry without the consent ol 
the Lodge, undei whose jurisdiction he may reside. ' 

6* 



130 THE PETITION 

non-residents, at least without the recommenda- 
tion and permission of the Lodges nearest to their 
domicil. 

The petition must be read on a regular night of 
meeting. This is done that no member may be 
taken by surprise, and an unworthy or unacceptable 
candidate be thus admitted without his knowledge 
or consent. The rule is derived by implication 
from the fifth of the Regulations of 1721, which 
prescribes that the petition shall lie over for one 
month. Now, as it is admitted that a ballot cannot, 
take place, except at a regular communication of 
the Lodge, this will carry back the time of presenta- 
tion to the previous regular meeting. 

The petition having been once read, cannot -be 
withdrawn. It must go through the ordeal of in- 
vestigation and ballot. This, too, is a regulation 
derived from constant and universal usage, rather 
than from any expressed statutory provision. The 
Ancient Constitutions say nothing on the subject ; 
but so general has been the custom that it may now 
be considered as having the force of an unwritten 
law. Many Grand Lodges have, in fact, adopted it 
as a specific regulation,'"" and in others, the practice 

* " Nor shall any letter applying for initiation into the mysteries of our 
Order be allowed to be withdrawn without a ballot, or such withdrawal shall 
be considered a rejection, and notice given to the Grand Lodge." — Const G. 
L. of So. Ca., Bide xix. sec. 8. "No petition for initiation or membership 
shall be w : thdrawn, af f er having been referred to a committee of inquiry."-^ 
Const. G. L. of Fia., Art. viii. sec. 7. I doubt, however, the correctness of 
extending this regulation to petitions of Masons for affiliation. Such a peti 
tion, I think, may be withdrawn at any stage, with the consent of a majoritj 
of the Lodge. But this subject will be hereafter discussed. 



OF CANDIDATES. 131 

is pursued, as it were, by tacit consent. Besides, 
the analogy of our speculative institution to an 
operative art, gives sanction to the usage. The 
candidate for Masonry has always been considered, 
symbolically, as material brought up for the build- 
ing of the temple. This material must be rejected 
or accepted. It cannot be carried elsewhere for 
further inspection. The Lodge to which it is first 
brought must decide upon its fitness. To with- 
draw the petition, would be to prevent the Lodge 
from making that decision, and therefore no peti- 
tion for initiation, having been once read, can be 
withdrawn;- it must go through the necessary forms. 
In the next place, the petition must be referred 
to a committee, for an investigation into the charac- 
ter and the qualifications of the candidate. The 
law, derived from the ancient Regulations of 1721, 
is explicit, that there shall be an inquiry into the 
character of the candidate ; but it is silent as to the 
mode in which that inquiry shall be made.t It 
might, it is true, be made by the whole Lodge, 
every member considering himself as a member of 
the committee of investigation ;{ but as this would 

* California, like Florida, prohibits the withdrawal only after the petition 
has been referred to a committee. But as soon as it is read, it becomes the 
property of the Lodge, and from that moment passes out of the control of 
the presenter. At no time, I think, after it has been read, can it be 
withdrawn. 

t See Regulations of 1721, art. v. ante. p. 66. 

£ In 1855, it wao actually recommended in the Grand Lodge of Virginia 
that such a course be adopted, and that special committees on the characters 
i>f applicants for initiation being abolished, the Lodge sho-il 1 be made a Com 
suttee of the Whole on every petition rjresented. 



132 THE PETITION 

be a cumbersome method, and one which would 
hardly be successful, from the very number of the 
inquisitors, and the probability that each member 
would depend upon his associates for the perform- 
ance of an unpleasant duty, it has been invariably 
the custom to refer the subject to a special commit- 
tee, consisting generally of three, who are always 
chosen by a skillful Master from among those mem- 
bers who, from peculiar circumstances, are most 
likely to make the inquiry with promptness, cer- 
tainty and impartiality. 

The petition, thus submitted to a committee, can- 
not be acted on until the next regular meeting, at 
which time the committee make their report. I say 
" at the next regular meeting,' 7 meaning thereby 
that one month must elapse between the reception 
of the petition and the final action of the Lodge. 
Some Lodges meet semi-monthly. In this case the 
petition cannot be read and referred at one regular 
meeting, and final action taken at the next. The 
Regulation of 1721 is explicit on this subject, that 
previous notice must be given " one month before." 
The object of this probationary period is, as it is ex- 
pressed in the Regulation, that there may be " due 
inquiry into the reputation and capacity of the 
candidate." 

If the report of the committee is unfavorable, the 
candidate is at once rejected without ballot. This 
usage is founded on the principles of common sense ; 
for, as by the Ancient Constitutions, one black ball 
is sufficient to reject an application, the unfavorable 



OF CANDIDATES. 133 

report of a committee must necessarily and by con- 
sequence include two unfavorable votes at least. 
It is therefore unnecessary to go into a ballot after 
sucli a report, as it is to be taken for granted that 
the brethren who reported unfavorably would, on a 
resort to the ballot, ca^t their negative votes. 
Their report is indeed virtually considered as the 
casting of such votes, and the applicant is therefore 
at once rejected without a further and unnecessary 
ballot. 

But if the report of the committee be favorable, 
the next step in the process is to proceed to a bal- 
lot. This, however, as it places the applicant in a 
new and important position, must be the subject of 
a distinct chapter, 



CHAPTER III. 
balloting for ®antotrates. 

The petition of the candidate having been refer- 
red to a committee, and that committee having 
reported favorably, the next step in the process is 
to submit the petition to the members of the Lodge 
for their acceptance or rejection. The law upon 
which this usage is founded is contained in the sixth 
article of the General Regulations of 1721, which 
declares that " no man can be entered a Brother in 
any particular Lodge, or admitted a member thereof, 
without the unanimous consent of all the members 
of the Lodge then present when the candidate is 
proposed, and their consent is formally asked by 
the Master."* 

No peculiar mode of expressing this opinion is 
laid down in any of the ancient Constitutions ;t on 

* Anbekson's Constitutions, first ed., p. 59. 

f The mode of voting does not seem to have been prescribed in the firs 
years after the revival in 1717. But in 1736, on the 6th April, a new Regu- 
lation, marked in the second edition of the Constitutions as the Fortieth, was 
adopted, in one clause of which it is .declared that " the opinions or votes of 
the members are always to be signified by each holding up one of his hands, 
which uplifted hands the Grand Wardens are to count, unless the numbers 
of hands be so unequa. as to render the counting useless." (Anderson's 



BALLOTING FOR CANDIDATES. 135 

the contrary, the same sixth article goes on to say 
that the members ' ; are to signify their consent o: 
dissent in their own prudent way, either virtually 
or in form, but with unanimity." Universal and 
uninterrupted usage, however, in this country, has 
required the votes on the application of candidates 
to be taken by ballot, which has been very wisely 
done, because thereby the secrecy and consequent 
independence of election is secured. 

Before proceeding to any further inquiry into the 
laws concerning the ballot, it will be proper to 
explain the mode in which the ballot is to be 
taken. 

In some jurisdictions, it is the custom for the 
Senior Deacon to carry the box containing the bal- 
lots around the Lodge room, when each officer and 
member having taken out of it a white and black 
ball, it is again carried round empty, and each 

Const, second ed., p. 178.) And although the Regulation was especially en- 
acted in reference to the conducting of business in the Grand Lodge, yet it 
seems to have been made of general application in all Lodges, by the con- 
cluding sentence, -which says : " Xor should any other kind of division be 
ever admitted among Masons.'' Although, according to the general opinion 
of Masonic jurists, the regulations adopted after 1722 are not to be con- 
sidered as of equal authority with those enacted previous to that period, still 
a deference to the character of the Grand Lodge of England, whose juris- 
diction, up to the time of the promulgation of this Fortieth Regulation, had 
not been seriously impaired, the custom of holding up hands has been prac- 
tised by a large number of Grand Lodges, and may be considered as good 
Masonic nsage. But this mode of voting never applied to the question on the 
admission of candidates, which has always been by ballot, as evidently ap- 
pears from a reference to it in the second edition of the Book of Constitu- 
tions, (1738), where it is said, "and therefore the Grand Masters have 
allowed the Lodges to admit a member, if not above three ballots are aga:nsj 
nim."' — Page 155, 



136 BALLOTING FOR CANDIDATES. 

Brother then deposits the bail of that color which 
he prefers — white being always a token of consent, 
and black of dissent. The box is then inspected 
by the Master, or by the Master and Wardens, and 
the result declared, after which the Deacon again 
goes round, and collects the remaining balls. 

I have always objected to this method, not be- 
cause the opinion of the Lodge was not thus as effec- 
tually declared as in any other, but because there 
seemed to be a want of solemnity in this mode of 
performing an important duty.. I therefore prefer 
the more formal ceremony practised in some other 
jurisdictions, and which may be thus described :* 

The ballot box, containing two compartments, 
one holding a number of black and white balls, and 
the other empty, is first exhibited to the Junior 
Warden, then to the Senior, and afterwards to the 
Master, that these officers may be satisfied that the 
compartment which should be empty is really so. 
This compartment is then closed. A hole, however, 
in the top of the box communicates with it, which is 
for the purpose of permitting the balls deposited by 
the voters to be dropped in. The compartment 
containing the white and- black balls indiscrimi- 
nately is left open, and the Senior Deacon, hav- 
ing placed the box upon the altar, retires to his 
seat. 

The roll of members is then called by the Secre- 
tary, beginning with the Master ; and as each 

* See this ceremony described in full in the author's Lexic m of Free 
masonry, art. Ballot 



BALLOTING FOR CANDIDATES. 137 

Brother's name is called, lie advances to the altar, 



niasonically salutes the East, deposits his ball taken 
from the compartment lying open before him, 
through the hole in the top of the closed compart- 
ment, and then retires, to his seat.* 

When all the officers and members have voted, 
the Senior Deacon takes the box from the altar, and 
submits it to the inspection of the Junior and Senior 
Wardens and the Master, when, if all the ballots 
prove to be white, the box is pronounced " clear," 
and the candidate is declared elected. If, however, 
there is one black ball only, the box is pronounced 
" foul," and the Master orders a new ballot, which 
is done in the same form, because it may be possible 
that the negative vote was deposited by mistake or 
inadvertence. t If, however, on the second ballot, 

* " The box is placed on the altar, and the ballot is deposited with the 
solemnity of a Masonic salutation, that the voters may be impressed with the 
sacred and responsible nature of the duty they are called on to discharge." — 
Mackey's Lexicon of Freemasonry , art. Ballot, third ed., p. 54. 

f In the " Principles of Masonic Law," (p. 200) I had erroneously stated 
that " if on the second scrutiny, one black ball is again found, the fact is an- 
nounced by the Master, who orders the election to lie over until the next 
stated meeting," to enable the opposing Brother to call upon him and 
privately state his reasons. Into this grievous error I must have fallen from 
the force of habit, as this has long been the usage pursued in South Caro- 
lina. But that it was an inadvertent error, must be apparent from the fact, 
that it is a practice contrary to all my stringent notions concerning the 
secrecy and independence of the ballot, and I have labored, not altogether 
without success, in my own jurisdiction, to abrogate the usage. I am con- 
soled in the commission and the acknowledgment of this error by the recol- 
lection that even the great Homer sometimes slept. But I cannot agree 
with those who deny the propriety of an immediate second ballot, when only 
one black ball has been deposited. In such a case, the chances of a mistake 
from careless or hurried handling of the balls, from an obscurity of light or 
from badly prepared balls, are so great, that we owe it to the candidate 



138 BALLOTING FOR CANDIDATES. 

the one black ball again appears, the candidate is 
declared by the Master to be rejected. If, on the 
first ballot, two or more black balls appear, the 
candidate is announced as having been rejected, 
without the formality of a second ballot. 

Three things are to be observed in the considera- 
tion of this subject : 1. The ballot must be unani 
mous. 2. It must be independent. 3. It must be 
secret. 

1. The unanimity of the ballot has the sanction 
of the express words of the Regulation of 1721. No 
one can be admitted into a Lodge upon his applica- 
tion either for membership as a Mason, or for ini- 
tiation as a profane, " without the unanimous consent 
of all the members of that Lodge then present." 
This is the true ancient usage. Payne, when he 
compiled that Regulation, and presented it in 1721 
to the Grand Lodge of England, for its adoption, 
would hardly have ventured to propose so stringent 
a law for the first time. The Society, under its new 
organization, was then in its infancy, and a legis- 
lator would have been more likely, if it were left to 
liis option, to have made a Regulation of so liberal a 
character as rather to have given facility than diffi- 
culty in the increase of members. But Payne was a 
conscientious man. He was directed not to make 
new Regulations, but to compile a code from the old 



whose character is on trial, that he should have all the advantages of this 
possibility of mistake. If, however, on the second ballot, when more care 
will of course be taken, a black ball still appears, the rejection should lw 
definitely announced without further remarks. 



BALLOTING FOR CANDIDATES. 139 

Regulations, then extant. He had no power of en- 
actment or of change, but simply of compilation. * 
And, therefore, although this subject of the election 
of candidates is not referred to in words in any of 
the ancient Constitutions, we have every reason to 
suppose that unanimity in the choice was one of the 
" immemorial usages" referred to in the title of the 
Regulations of 1721, as the basis on which those 
Regulations were compiled. 

It is true that a short time afterwards, it was 
found that this Regulation was too stringent for 
those Lodges which probably were more anxious to 
increase their numbers than to improve their ma- 
sonic character — an infirmity which is still found in 
some of our contemporary Lodges — and then to ac- 
commodate such brethren, a new Regulation was 
adopted, allowing any Lodges that desired the 
privilege to admit a member, if there are not more 
than three ballots against him.t It might be 
argued that the words of the new Regulation, which 
are, " to admit a member," while the old Regula- 
tion speaks of entering a Brother or admitting a 

* Hence, in the title of these " General Regulations," we are informed that 
Dr. Anderson " has compared them with and reduced them to the ancient 
records and immemorial usages of the fraternity." — Anderson, Const., first 
ed., p. 58. 

f " But it was found inconvenient to insist upon unanimity in several cases. 
And therefore the Grand Masters have allowed the Lodges to admit a mem- 
ber, if not above three ballots are against him ; though some Lodges desire 
no such allowance." — And. Const, second ed., p. 155. It seems that this 
privilege was secured, net by a regulation of the Grand Lodge, but by virtue 
of the Grand Master's dispensation to set aside the old law, which, it will be 
hereafter seen, he had no power to do. 



140 BALLOTING FOR CANDIDATES. 

member, might seem to indicate that the new privi 
lege referred only to the application of Masons for 
affiliation, and not to the petition of candidates for 
initiation. But it is altogether unnecessary to dis- 
cuss this argument, since the new Regulation, first 
published in the second edition of Anderson's Con- 
stitutions, in the year 1738, has never been deemed 
of any authority as one of" the foundations of Ma- 
sonic law. It is to be viewed simply, like all the 
other Regulations which were adopted after the year 
1721, as merely a local law of the Grand Lodge of 
England ; and even as such, it was no doubt an in- 
fringement of the spirit, if not of the letter, of the 
Ancient Constitutions. 

Unanimity in the ballot is necessary to secure the 
harmony of the Lodge, which may be as seriously 
impaired by the admission of a candidate contrary 
to the wishes of one member as of three or more ; 
for every man has his friends and his influence. 
Besides, it is unjust to any member, however humble 
he may be, to introduce among his associates one 
whose presence might be unpleasant to him, and 
whose admission would probably compel him to 
withdraw from the meetings, or even altogether 
from the Lodge. Neither would any advantage 
really accrue to a Lodge by such a forced admis- 
sion ; for while receiving a new and untried mem- 
ber into its fold, it would be losing an old one. 
For these reasons, in this country, except in a few 
jurisdictions, the unanimity of the ballot has always 
been insisted on ; and it is evident, from what has 



BALLOTING FOR CANDIDATES. 141 

been here said, that any less stringent Regulation 
is a violation of the ancient law and usage. 

From the fact that the vote which is given on 
the ballot for a candidate must be one in which the 
unanimous consent of all present is to be given, it 
follows that all the members then present are under 
an obligation to vote. From the discharge of this 
duty no one can be permitted to shrink. And, 
therefore, in balloting on a petition, every member, 
as his name is called, is bound to come forward and 
deposit either a white or a black ball. No one can 
be exempted from the performance of this respon- 
sible act, except by the unanimous consent of the 
Lodge ; for, if a single member were allowed to de- 
cline voting, it is evident that the candidate, being 
then admitted by the affirmative votes of the others, 
such admission would, nevertheless, not be in com- 
pliance with the words and spirit of the law. The 
" unanimous consent of all the members of the Lodge 
then present," would not have been given — one, 
at least, having withheld that consent by the non-user 
of his prerogative. 

It follows also, from this view of the Regu- 
lation, that no Lodge can enact a by Jaw which, 
for non-payment of dues or other cause, should 
prohibit a member from voting on the petition 
of a candidate.* A member may forfeit his 

* It is not very unusual for Lodges to incorporate a Regulation in their by- 
laws, depriving members who are more than one year in arrears from vet- 
in/?. - As long as this is interpreted as referring to ordinary questions before 
the Lodge, or to the annual election of officers, there can be no objection ie 



142 BALLOTING FOR CANDIDATES. 

right to yote at the election of officers, or other 
occasions ; but not only cannot be deprived of his 
right to ballot on petitions, but is, as we have seen, 
compelled to exercise this right, whenever he is 
present and a candidate is proposed. 

2. Independence of all responsibility is an essen- 
tial ingredient in the exercise of the ballot. A 
Mason is responsible to no human power for the 
vote that he casts on the petition of a candidate. 
To his own conscience alone is he to answer for the 
motives that have led to the act, and for the act 
itself. It is, of course, wrong, in the exercise of this 
invaluable right, to be influenced by pique or preju- 
dice, or by an adverse vote, to indulge an ungener- 
ous feeling. But whether a member is or is not in- 
fluenced by such motives, or is indulging such 
feelings, no one has a right to inquire. No Mason 
can be called to an account for the vote that he has 
deposited. A Lodge is not entitled indeed to know 
how any one of its members lias voted. No inquiry 
on this subject can be entertained ; no information 
can be received. 

So anxious is the law to preserve this independ- 
ence of the ballot, as the great safeguard of^its 
purity, that the Grand Lodge, supreme on almost 
all other subjects, has no power to interfere in 
reference to the ballot for a candidate ; and notwith- 
standing that injustice may have been done to an 

it. But it is evident, from the course of the argument I have pursued, that 
it would he unconstitutional to apply such a by-law to the case of voting on 
the petition oi candidates for initiation or affiliation. 



BALLOTING FOR CANDIDATES. 143 

apright and excellent man by his rejection, (and 
such cases of clear injustice must sometimes occur,) 
neither the Grand Lodge nor the Grand Master 
can afford any redress, nor can any dispensation be 
granted for either reversing the decision of the 
Lodge, or for allowing less than a unanimous ballot 
to be required. Hence we perceive that the dis 
pensation mentioned in the edition of the Book of 
Constitutions for 1738, permitting a candidate tc 
be admitted with three black balls, was entirely 
unconstitutional. 

The right of a Lodge, expressed by the unanimous 
consent of all the brethren present, to judge of whom 
it shall admit to its membership, is called " an in- 
herent privilege,' 7 and it is expressly said that it is 
" not subject to a dispensation."* The reason as- 
signed for this is one that will suggest itself at once 
to any reflective mind, namely, because the members 
are themselves the best judges of the particular 
reasons for admission or rejection ; and if an objec- 
tionable person is thrust upon them, contrary to 
their wishes, the harmony of the Lodge may be im- 
paired, or even its continuance hazarded. 

3.^ The secrecy of the ballot is as essential to its 
perfection as its unanimity or its independence. If 
the vote were to be given viva voce, it is impossible 

* This provision is found in the latter clause of the Sixth Regulation ol 
1721, and is in these words : " Nor is this inherent privilege subject to a dis 
pensation, because the members of a particular Lodge are the best judges 
of it ; and if a fractious member should be imposed on them, it might spoil 
their harmony, or hinder their freedom, or even break and disperse the 
Lodge." — And. Const, first ed.,p. 59. 



144 BALLOTING FOR CANDIDATES. 

that the improper influences of fear or interest 
should not sometimes be exerted, and timid members 
be thus induced to vote contrary to the dictates of 
their reason and conscience. Hence, to secure this 
secrecy and protect the purity of choice, it has 
been wisely established as a usage, not only that the 
vote shall in these cases be taken by a ballot, but 
that there shall be no subsequent discussion of the 
subject. Not only has no member a right to in- 
quire how his fellows have voted, but it is wholly 
out of order for him to explain his own vote. And 
the reason of this is evident. If one member has a 
right to rise in his place and announce that he de- 
posited a white ball, then every other member has 
the same right ; and in a Lodge of twenty members, 
where an application has been rejected by one black 
ball, if nineteen members state that they did not 
deposit it, the inference is clear that the twentieth 
Brother has done so, and thus the secrecy of the 
balLot is at once destroyed. The rejection having 
been announced from the chair, the Lodge should at 
once proceed to other business, and it is the sacred 
duty of the presiding officer peremptorily and at 
once to check any rising discussion on the subject. 
Nothing must be done to impair the inviolable 
secrecy of the ballot. 

He-consideration of the Ballot. 

It almost always happens, when a ballot is un- 
favorable, that the friends of the applicant are not 



BALLOTING FOE CANDIDATES. 145 

satisfied, and desire a re-consideration, and it some- 

tlZrT Ut :- ">*» f ° r t,Mt -considerS 
is made. Now, it is a subject worthy of discussion 
how far such a motion is in order, and how " 
re-consideration is to be obtained. 

a motioTr Ce Wiih .r° ttnCing the P r °P° siti ^ *at 
SyZ n e T^r aU ™ fa ™ a Me ballot is en- 

«« to °b '• In , the firSt Place > the eIem ^ 
necessary to bring such a motion within the pro- 

-~fParliamen tary rules of order are want^. 
i ! , f ° r , re - consid ^tion must always be made 
by one who has voted in the majority.* This is a 
wise provision, to prevent time being lasted Tnr * 

Efissr of th , esame quest1 ° ns - "« 

But the vl T n When a qUeStion is done »ith.+ 
But the vote on the petition of a candidate beW 
by secret ballot, in which no member is p rmiS 
to make his vote known, it is, of course, impos bio 

to know when the motion for re-consideration s 
made, whether ffie ^ ^ ^ ^ at„ 1 is 

or the minority, and whether therefore he is or s 
not entitled, under the Parliamentary rule to make 
such a motion . T]le mot . on would / e t m k e 

out for want of certainty. 

of B t U he i baltt P t ! rtiCUlar ^ ° f a -^deration 
the ballot, there is another and more strictly 

• ™« i — ti°;::;:r m g i e rn,e ; of the uoiM **■ *«- ■ 

negative, it shal, be in * h "S^ camedta^e afflrmative w 
re-coasideration thereof."-^ 20. maJ ° r " J ' t0 move for «* 

t Jefferson's JfonwaZ, sec t xliii, p. 03 
7 



146 BAL.OTING FOR CANDIDATES. 

Masonic rule, which would make such a motion out 
of order. To understand the operation of this 
second rule, it is necessary to make a preliminary 
explanation. The proceedings of a Lodge are of 
two kinds — that relating to business, and that relat- 
ing to Masonic labor. Now, in all matters purely 
of a business character, in which the Lodge assumes 
the nature of a mere voluntary association of men, 
such, for instance, as the appropriation of the funds, 
every member is entitled to a voice in the delibera- 
tions, and may make any motion relative to the 
business in hand, which would not be a violation of 
the Parliamentary rules of order which prevail in 
all deliberative societies, and of those few other 
rules of order which particularly distinguish the 
Masonic from any other association or society. But 
all matters relating to Masonic labor are under the 
exclusive control of the Master. He alone is re- 
sponsible to the Grand Lodge for the justice and 
excellence of his work, and he alone should there- 
fore be permitted to direct it. If the time when 
and the manner how labor is to be conducted, be 
left to the decision of a majority of the Lodge, then 
the Master can no longer be held responsible for 
results, in producing which he had, in common with 
the other members, only one voice. It is wisely 
therefore provided that the labor of the Lodge shall 
be wholly and solely controlled and directed by the 
Master. 

Now, the ballot is, on a petition for initiation, a 
part of the labor of a Lodge. The candidate may 



BALLOTING FOR CANDIDATES. 147 

be said symbolically to be the material brought up 
for the building of the temple. The laws and usages 
of Masonry have declared that the whole Lodge 
shall unanimously decide whether this material is 
'good and true," and fit for the tools of the work- 
men.* But as soon as the Lodge has begun to ex- 
ercise its judgment on the material thus brought 
before it — that is, as soon as it has proceeded to a 
ballot on the petition — it has gone into Masonic 
labor, and the authority of the Master as the Chief 
Builder becomes paramount. He may stay the elec- 
tion — he may refuse to sanction it — he may set it 
aside — and against his decision there can be no ap- 
peal, except to the Grand Lodge, to which body, of 
course, he is responsible, and before which he must 
show good reasons for the act that he has done. 

From all this, then, it follows that the Master of 
the Lodge alone has the power to order a re-con- 
sideration of the ballot. If, on the annunciation of 
the result, he is satisfied that an error of inadvert- 
ence has occurred, by which, for instance, a black 

* But even here the Master may justly interpose his authority, as the 
superintendent of the work, and declare that material selected by the Lodge 
is unfit, and reject it. Suppose, for instance, that a Lodge should have unani- 
mously elected a blind man to receive the degrees, (this is a supposable case, 
for such an election and initiation once took place in Mississippi,) will any 
Masonic jurist deny the right— nay more, the duty of the Master to interpose 
and refuse to* proceed to initiation? And in this refusal he would, on an 
appeal, be undoubtedly supported by the Grand Lodge. 

Let it be understood, once for all, that when I speak of the powers and 
prerogatives of the Master of a Lodge, I always do so with the implicit re- 
servation, that for the abuse of these powers, he is responsible to the Grand 
Lodge. The Master has, it is true, the power to do wrong, but not tha 
right. 



14.8 BALLOTING FOR CANDIDATES. 

ball has been deposited, where the depositor intended 
a white one, or if he supposes it probable or pos- 
sible that such an error may have been committed, 
or if he has any other equally good reason, he may 
order a re-consideration of the ballot. But even 
this must be done under restriction, that the re-con- 
sideration is to be ordered at once. If any member 
has left the room after the first ballot has been 
taken, it would be clearly wrong in the Master to 
order a re-consideration, because it might be that 
the party so leaving had been the very one who had 
voted for a rejection. Of course it follows, on the 
same principle, that the Master would not be justi- 
fied in ordering a re-consideration on any subsequent 
meeting. The Lodge having been closed, there is 
no power in Masonry which can order a re-con- 
sideration. The result cannot be affected except by 
a new petition. 

After what has been previously said, it is hardly 
necessary, in conclusion, to add, that neither the 
Grand Master nor the Grand Lodge has the power, 
under any circumstances whatever, to order a re- 
consideration of a ballot. Everything concerning 
the admission or rejection of candidates is placed 
exclusively in the Lodge. The Regulations of 1721 
declare this to be " an inherent privilege not subject 
to dispensation." 



CHAPTEK IV. 
£f)r ^oiTseqttences of 3&ejecttotr. 

Whex a candidate for initiation into the myste- 
ries of Freemasonry has been rejected in the manner 
described in the last chapter, he is necessarily and 
consequently placed in a position towards the fra- 
ternity which he had not before occupied, and which 
position requires some examination. 

In the first place, there can be no re-consideration 
of his application on a mere vote of re-consideration 
by the Lodge. This subject has been already suf- 
ficiently discussed, and I need only here refer to the 
preceding chapter. 

In the next place, he can apply to no other Lodge 
for initiation. Having been once rejected by a 
certain Lodge, he is forever debarred the privilege 
of applying to any other for admission. This law 
is implicitly derived from the Regulations which 
forbid Ledges to interfere with each other's work, 
The candidate, as I have already observed, is to be 
viewed in our speculative system as " material 
brought up for the building of the temple." The 
act of investigating the fitness or unfitness of th»t 



150 THE CONSEQUENCES 

material, constitutes a part of Masonic labor, and 
when a Lodge has commenced that labor, it is con- 
sidered discourteous for any other to interfere with 
it. This sentiment of courtesy, which is in the true 
spirit of Masonry, is frequently inculcated in the 
ancient Masonic codes. Thus, in the Gothic Con- 
stitutions, it is laid down that " a Brother shall not 
supplant his Fellow in the work ;"* the " ancient 
Charges at makings/' adopted in the time of James 
II., also direct that " no Master or Fellow supplant 
others of their work ;"t and the Charges approved 
in 1722 are still more explicit in directing that 
none shall attempt to finish the work begun by his 
Brother.! 

* See ante p. 45, art. 10. f See ante p. 51, art. 2. 

$ " None shall discover envy at the prosperity of a Brother, nor supplant 
him, or put him out of his work, if he be capable to finish the same ; for no 
man can finish another's work so much to the lord's profit, unless he be 
thoroughly acquainted with the designs and draughts of him that began it." — . 
Charges of 1722, ch. v. See ante p. 59. There has always been a dispo- 
sition in modern times to evade the stringency of ancient laws, and notwith- 
standing the warning cry of all in authority, that the portals of our Order 
are not sufficiently guarded, the tendency of our modern constitutions is to 
put facilities rather than obstacles in the way of admission. If the ancient 
law is not in absolute words abrogated, it is often so construed as to become 
a mere dead letter. Thus, in the Rules and Regulations of the Grand Lodge 
of Ohio, (Proceedings from 1808 to 1847, lately published, page 438,) it is 
enacted as follows : "No Lodge shall initiate into the mysteries of the craft 
any person whomsoever, without being first satisfied by a test, or otherwise, 
that the candidate has not made application to some other Lodge, and been 
rejected ; and if it shall appear that he has been rejected, then the Lodge 
must be satisfactorily convinced that such rejection has not been on account 
of any circumstances that ought to preclude him from the benefits of Ma- 
sonry." The first clause of this Regulation is completely in accordance with 
the ancient law ; but the second clause virtually annuls the first. One 
Lodge is thus placed in judgment upon the motives of another ; and having 



OF REJECTION. 151 

There is another and more practical reason why 
petitions shall not, after rejection, be transferred 
to another Lodge. If such a course were admis- 
sible, it is evident that nothing would be easier 
than for a candidate to apply from Lodge to Lodge, 
until at last he might find one, less careful than 
others of the purity of the household, through 
whose too willing doors he could find admission into 
that Order, from which the justly scrupulous care 
of more stringent Lodges had previously rejected 
him. It is unnecessary to advert more elaborately 
to the manifold evils which would arise from this 
rivalry among Lodges, nor to do more than suggest 
that it would be a fertile source of admitting: un- 
worthy material into the temple. The laws of 
Masonry have therefore wisely declared that a can- 
didate, having been once rejected, can apply to no 
other Lodge for admission, except the one which 
had rejected him.* 

determined that the former rejection was not based on satisfactory grounds, 
it proceeds forthwith to admit the rejected candidate. According to this 
Regulation, any Lodge may interfere with the work of another Lodge, pro- 
vided always it will first resolve that the said work, in its opinion, was not 
well done. Such a Regulation is an incentive to rivalry and contention in 
any jurisdiction. 

* In 1851, the Committee of Foreign Correspondence of the Grand Lodge 
of New York presented the Craft with thirty-four maxims of Masonic juris- 
prudence, which are distinguished for their general legal accuracy. To the 
Twenty-ninth, however, I cannot attribute this character. The committee 
there assert that " the majority of a Lodge can, at any regular stated meet- 
ing thereof, recommend a rejected candidate for initiation to a neighboring 
Lodge, which can then initiate him, on a petition and reference, and a unani- 
mous vote." I look in vain through all the Landmarks, usages and constitu- 
tions of the Order, for any authority under which a Ledge can assume the 



152 THE CONSEQUENCES 

A candidate who lias "been rejected may, however, 
again apply to the Lodge which has rejected him. 
The ancient laws of the Order are entirely silent 
as to the time when this new application is to be 
made. Some of the Grand Lodges of this country 
have enacted local Regulations on this subject, and 
decreed that such new application shall not be 
made until after the expiration of a definite period. 
The Grand Lodge of New York requires a proba- 
tion of six months, and some other states have ex- 
tended it to a year. In all such cases, the local 
Regulation will be of force in the jurisdiction for 
which it was enacted. But where there is no such 
Regulation, it is competent for the candidate to re- 
apply at any subsequent regular communication. 
In such a case, however, he must apply by an en- 
tirely new petition, which must again be vouched 
for and recommended as in the original application, 
by the same or other brethren, must be again refer- 
red to a committee of inquiry on character, must 
lie over for one month, and then be balloted for 
precisely as it was before. The treatment of this 

irerogative of recommending a candidate, rejected or not, to " a neighbor- 
ing Lodge" for initiation. Any Lodge, it is true, having elected a candi- 
date to receive the degrees, and being prevented by subsequent circumstances, 
such, for instance, as the removal of the candidate, from conferring them, 
may request another Lodge to do its work for it ; but it is contrary to all the 
principles of Masonic jurisprudence for a Lodge to depart from its proper 
sphere, and become the recommenders or vouchers to another Lodge of a 
candidate, and he, too, a rejected one. I will say nothing of the implied in- 
sult to the Lodge to whom the discarded material is recommended — dis- 
carded as not being good enough for their own Lodge, but recommended as 
fit enough for the one to which he is sent. The constitution of the Grand 
Lodge of New York contains T am happy to say, no such provision. 



OF EEJECTION. 153 

new petition must be, in all respects, as if no former 
petition existed. The necessary notice will in this 
way be given to all the brethren, and if there are 
the same objections to receiving the candidate as 
existed in the former trial, there will be ample op- 
portunity for expressing them in the usual way by 
the black ball. It may be objected that in this way 
a Lodge may be harassed by the repeated petitions 
of an importunate candidate. This, it is true, may 
sometimes be the case ; but this " argumentum ab 
inconvenienti" can be of no weight, since it maybe 
met by another of equal or greater force, that if it 
were not for this provision of a second petition, 
many good men who had perhaps been unjustly re- 
fused admission, and for which act the Lodge might 
naturally feel regret, would be without redress. 
Circumstances may occur in which a rejected candi- 
date may, on a renewal of his petition, be found 
worthy of admission. He may have since reformed 
and abandoned the vices which had originally caused 
his rejection, or it may be that the Lodge has since 
found that it was in error, and in his rejection had 
committed an act of injustice. It is wisely pro- 
vided, therefore, that to meet such, not infrequent 
cases, the candidate is permitted to present a re- 
newed petition, and to pass through a second or 
even a third and fourth ordeal. If it prove favor- 
able in its results, the injustice to him is compen- 
sated for ; but if it again prove unfavorable, no 
evil has been done to the Lodge, and the candidate 
is just where he was, before his renewed application. 
7* 



154 THE CONSEQUENCES OF REJECTION. 

All that has been here said refers exclusively to 
the petitions of profanes for initiation. The law 
which relates to the applications of Master Masons 
for admission into a Lodge as members, will be con- 
sidered when we come to treat of the rights and 
duties of Master Masons. 

The subject of balloting, on the applications for 
each of the degrees, or the advancement of candi- 
dates from a lower to a higher degree, will also be 
more appropriately referred to. in the succeeding 
Book, which will be devoted to the consideration 
of the law relating to individual Masons ; and more 
especially to that part of it which treats of the 
rights of Entered Apprentices and Fellow Crafts, 



BOOK III. 



JRpIalsng !o Mttnki! Kasons. 



Masons, as individual members of our Order, are to b8 
distinguished, according to the progress they have made, 
into Entered Apprentices, Fellow Crafts, Master Masons, and 
Past Masters. Symbolic Masonry recognizes nothing beyond 
these grades. It is of the rights and prerogatives that they 
acquire, and of the obligations and duties that devolve upon 
them as individuals who have attained to these various de- 
grees, that it is the object of the Third Book of the present 
treatise to inquire. 



CHAPTER I. 

©f Hnteretr Apprentices, 

There was a time, and that at no very remote 
period, when the great body of the fraternity was 
composed entirely of Entered Apprentices. The 
first degree was the only one that was conferred in 
subordinate Lodges, and the Grand Lodge reserved 
to itself the right of passing Fellow Crafts and 
raising Master Masons." Of course all the business 
of subordinate Lodges was then necessarily trans- 
acted in the Entered Apprentice's degree. The 
Wardens, it is true, were required to be Fellow 
Crafts,t and the most expert of these was chosen as 
the Master ;J but all the other offices were filled, 

* " No private Lodge at this time [1739] had the power of passing or rais- 
ing Masons, nor could any Brother be advanced to either of these degrees 
but in the Grand Lodge, with the unanimous consent of all the Brethren in 
communication assembled." — Smith's Use and Abuse of Freemasonry, 
p. 73. This is confirmed by the Old Laws of the Grand Lodge of England, 
art. xiii.,which ordered that" Apprentices must be admitted Fellow Crafts 
and Masters only here, [in the Grand Lodge] unless by dispensation from the 
Grand Master." 

t " No Brother can be a Warden until he has passed the part of a Fellow 
Craft."— Charges of 1721, § 4. 

% " The most expert of the Fellow Craftsmen shall be chosen or appointed 
the Master or Overseer of the lord's work, who is to be called Master by 
those that work under him."— Ibid, § 5. 



158 OF ENTERED APPRENTICES. 

and the business and duties of Masonry were per- 
formed, by the Apprentices. But we learn from 
Anderson, that on the 22d of November, 1725, a regu- 
lation was adopted which permitted the Lodges to 
assume the prerogative formerly vested in the Grand 
Lodge, of conferring the second and third degrees, 
and as soon as this became generally the custom, 
Apprentices ceased to constitute the body of the 
craft, a position which then began to be occupied 
by Master Masons ; and the Apprentices lost by 
this change nearly all the rights and prerogatives 
which they had originally possessed. 

This fact must be constantly borne in mind when- 
ever we undertake to discuss the rights of Entered 
Apprentices, and to deduce our opinions on the sub- 
ject from what is said concerning them in the 
ancient Regulations. All that is written of them 
in these fundamental laws is so written because 
they then constituted the great body of the craft.* 
They were almost the only Masons ; for the Fellow 
Crafts and Masters were but the exceptions, and 
hence these Regulations refer to them, not so much 

* This expression must, however, be taken with some reservation. In the 
early part of the eighteenth century, when the speculative element predomi- 
nated in the Order, to the entire exclusion of the operative, Entered Appren- 
tices, that is to say, initiates, or Masons who had taken but one degree, 
clearly constituted the body of the craft. But at an earlier period, when the 
operative was mingled with the speculative character of the institution, the 
body of the Order were undoubtedly called " Fellows," and would now pro- 
bably be considered as equivalent to our Fellow Crafts. This subject will 
be discussed at length in the next chapter. It is sufficient for the present 
that we consider the condition of the Order at the time of the revival in 1717, 
and for some years afterwards, when Apprentices only composed the prinot 
pal membership of the Lodges. 



OF ENTERED APPRENTICES. 159 

as Apprentices, or men of the lowest degree, in con- 
tradistinction to those who had been advanced to 
higher grades, but simply as the large constituency 
of the Masonic fraternity. Hence the Regulations 
which on this principle and in this view then ap- 
plied to Entered Apprentices, must now be referred 
to Master Masons, who have taken their place in the 
distribution of the labors, as well as the honors and 
prerogatives of the institution. I shall have occa- 
sion, before this chapter is concluded, to apply this 
theory in the illustration of several points of Ma- 
sonic law. 

In the modern system — the one, that is to say, 
which is now practised everywhere — Entered Ap- 
prentices are possessed of very few rights, and are 
called upon to perform but very few duties. They 
are not, strictly speaking, members of a Lodge, are 
not required to pay dues, and are not permitted to 
speak or vote, or hold any office. Secrecy and 
obedience are the only obligations imposed upon 
them, while the Masonic axiom, " audi, vide, tace" — • 
hear j see, and be silent — is peculiarly appropriate to 
them in their present condition in the fraternity. 

Our ritual, less changed in this respect than our 
Regulations, still speaks of initiating Apprentices 
and making Masons, as synonymous terms. They 
were so, as we have seen, at one time, but they cer- 
tainly no longer express the same meaning. An 
Entered Apprentice is now no more a Mason than 
a student of medicine is a physician, or a disciple ia 
a philosopher. The Master Masons now constitute 



160 OF ENTERED APPRENTICES. 

the body of the craft ; and to be, at this day, a 
Mason, properly so called, one must have taken the 
third degree. 45 " 

Hence Apprentices are not entitled to the honors 
of Masonic burial, t nor can they join in paying 
those honors to a deceased Master Mason. 'J: In this 
respect they are placed precisely in the position of 
profanes ; and it is a practical proof of what I have 
just said, that they are not Masons in the strict 
sense and signification of the word. They are 
really nothing more than Masonic disciples, permit- 
ted only to enter the porch of the temple, but with 
no right to penetrate within its sanctuary. § 

* I must not be understood by this expression to deny the Masonic charac- 
ter of Entered Apprentices. In the ordinary and colloquial use of the word, 
a Mason is one who has been admitted into the Order of Masonry. In this 
sense an Apprentice is a Mason ; he is to be styled, by way of distinction 
from the possessors of the succeeding degrees, an " Entered Apprentice 
Mason." But in the more legal and technical employment of the title, a 
Mason is one who is in possession of the rights, privileges and mysteries of 
Masonry. And in this sense an Apprentice is clearly not yet a Mason ; he 
is only a neophyte in the incipient stage of Masonry. To avoid confusion, 
this difference in the colloquial and legal uses of the word must be always 
borne in mind. We speak carelessly and familiarly of a building in the 
course of erection as a house, although nothing but the frame-work may be 
there. But really and strictly, it is only a house when completely finished, 
and ready for occupation as a place of habitation. 

f " No Mason can be interred with the formalities of the Order .... 
unless he has been advanced to the third degree of Masonry, from which re- 
striction there can be no exception. Fellow Crafts or Apprentices are not 
entitled to the funeral obsequies." — Preston, Ol. edit., p. 89. 

X This is evident from the fact that on such occasions the Lodge is re- 
quired to be opened in the Master's degree. — See Preston, as above. 

§ The position of Entered Apprentices in the Order at the present day 
eeems to be strictly in accordance with our ancient traditions. These inform 
us that the Apprentices were not permitted to pass the portals of the temple. 



OF ENTERED APPRENTICES. 161 

Jf this be the case, then it follows clearly that 
fchey are not entitled to Masonic charities or relief. 
And so far a? regards the pecuniary benefits of the 
Order, we have a still better reason for this exclu- 
sion ; for surely they who have contributed nothing 
to the support of the institution, in the form of con- 
tributions or arrears, cannot expect, as a right, to 
receive any eleemosynary aid from its funds. The 
lesson of charity is, it is true, given in the first de- 
gree ; but this is a ritualistic usage, which was estab- 
lished at the time when Entered Apprentices were, 
as I have already observed, the great body of the 
craft ; and were really, by this fact, entitled to the 
name of Masons. The lessons taught on this sub- 
ject, except in so far as they are of a general char- 
acter, and refer to the virtue of charity simply as a 
part of a system of ethics, must be viewed only as 
an introductory instruction upon matters that are 
afterwards to be practically enforced in the third 
degree. 

Entered Apprentices formerly had the right of 
being present at the communications of the Grand 
Lodge, or General Assembly, and taking part in its 
deliberations. In fact, it is expressly prescribed, in 
the last of the Regulations of 1721, that none of 
these important laws can be altered, or any new 
General Regulations made, until the alteration or 

but were occupied in the quarries in fashioning the rude stones by means of 
the guage and gavel, so as to fit them for the use of the Fellow Crafts. And 
it was not until they had made due proficiency and proved themselves worthy 
by their obedience and fidelity, that they were permitted to enter the sacred 
precincts, and to receive a fuller share of light and instruction. 



162 OF ENTERED APPRENTICES. 

the new regulation is submitted to all the Brethren, 
" even the youngest Entered Apprentice."* But 
this rule is now obsolete, because, being founded on 
the fact that Apprentices were then the body of the 
craft, and they being no longer so, the reason of the 
law having ceased, the law also ceases. Cessante 
ratione legis, cessat ipsa lex. 

Entered Apprentices, however, still have several 
rights, in the due exercise of which they are en- 
titled to as much protection as the most important 
members of the craft. These rights may be briefly 
enumerated as follows : 

They have a right to sit in the Lodge in which 
they were initiated, when it is opened in the first 
degree, and to receive all the instructions which ap- 
pertain to that degree. This is not a right of 
visitation such as is exercised by Master Masons, 
because it cannot be extended beyond the Lodge in 
which the Apprentice has been initiated. Into that 
Lodge, however, whenever opened and working, in 
his degree he can claim admittance, as a right ac- 
cruing to him from his initiation ; but if admitted 
into any other Lodge, (the policy of which is doubt- 
ful) it can only be by the courtesy of the presiding 
officer. Formerly, of course, when Apprentices 
constituted the body of the fraternity, they pos- 
sessed this general right of visitation,! but lost it 

* See ante p. 79. 

f Of course when the majority of the members of all Lodges were Appren- 
tices, or, in other words, had received only the first degree, it is evident that 
there could have been few or no visits among the craft, if the right were re- 
stricted to the possessors of the third degree. 



OF ENTERED APPRENTICES. 163 

as soon as Lodges began to confer the higher de- 
grees ; and now it is confined to Master Masons, 
who alone, under modern usage, possess the right 
of visit. 

Apprentices have also the right to apply for ad- 
vancement to a higher degree. Out of the class of 
Apprentices the Fellow Crafts are made ; and as 
this eligibility to promotion really constitutes the 
most important right of this inferior class of our 
Brethren, it is well worthy of careful consideration. 
I say, then, that the Entered Apprentice possesses 
the right of application to be passed to the degree 
of a Fellow Craft. He is eligible as a candidate ; 
but here this right ceases. It goes no farther than 
the mere prerogative of applying. It is only the 
right of petition. The Apprentice has, in fact, no 
more claim to the second degree than the profane 
has to the first. It is a most mistaken opinion to 
suppose that when a profane is elected as a candi- 
date, he is elected to receive all the degrees that 
can be conferred in a Symbolic Lodge. Freemasonry 
is a rigid system of probation. A second step 
never can be attained until sufficient proof has been 
given in the preceding that the candidate is " worthy 
and well qualified.""* A candidate who has received 
the first degree is no more assured by this reception 
that he will reach the third, than that he will attain 

* The Charges of 1722 tell us that " all preferment among Masons is 
grounded upon real worth and personal merit only," and they proceed to 
show how by these means alone progress is to be made from the lowest to 
the highest positions in the Order. See ante p. 57. 



164 OF ENTERED APPRENTICES. 

the Royal Arch. In the very ceremony of his re 
ception he may have furnished convincing evidence 
of his unfitness to proceed further ; and it would be- 
come the duty of the Lodge, in that case, to debar 
his future progress. A bad Apprentice will make 
a worse Master Mason ; for he who cannot comply 
with the comparatively simple requisitions of the 
first degree, will certainly be incapable of respond- 
ing to the more important duties and obligations of 
the third. Hence, on the petition of an Apprentice 
to be passed as a Fellow Craft, a ballot should al 
ways be taken. This is but in accordance with the 
meaning of the word ; for a petition is a prayer for 
something which may or may not be refused, and 
hence, if the petition is granted, it is ex gratia, or 
by the voluntary favor of the Lodge, which, if it 
chooses, may withhold its assent. Any other view 
of the case would exclude that inherent right which 
is declared by the Regulations of 1721 to exist in 
every Lodge, of being the best judges of the quali- 
fications of its own members.* 

An Apprentice, then, has the right to apply for 
advancement ; but the Lodge in which he was initi- 
ated has the correlative right to reject his applica- 
tion. And thereby no positive right of any person 
is affected ; for, by this rejection of the candidate 
for advancement, no other injury is done to him 
than the disappointment of his expectations. His 
character as an Entered Apprentice is not impaired, 

* Regulations of 1721, art. vi., ante,p. 66. 



OF ENTERED APPRENTICES. 165 

He still possesses all the rights and prerogatives 
that he did before, and continues, notwithstanding 
the rejection of his application, to be an Apprentice 
" in good standing," and entitled, as before, to all 
the rights and privileges of a possessor of that 
degree. 

This subject of the petition of an Apprentice for 
advancement involves three questions of great im- 
portance : First, how soon, after receiving the first 
degree, can he apply for the second ? Secondly, 
what number of black balls is necessary to consti- 
tute a rejection ? And thirdly, what time must 
elapse, after a first rejection, before the Apprentice 
can renew his application for advancement ? 

1. How soon, after receiving the first degree, can an 
Apprentice apply for advancement to the second ? 
The necessity of a full comprehension of the mys- 
teries of one degree, before any attempt is made to 
acquire those of a second, seems to have been 
thoroughly appreciated from the earliest times ; and 
hence the Old York Constitutions of 926 prescribe 
that " the Master shall instruct his Apprentice 
faithfully, and make him a perfect workman."* 
But if there be an obligation on the part of the 
Master to instruct his Apprentice, there must be, 
of course, a correlative obligation on the part of 
the latter to receive and profit by those instructions. 
Accordingly, unless this obligation is discharged, 
and the Apprentice makes himself acquainted with 

* See,ante p. 45. But it is unnecessary to multiply authorities; as the 
ritual of the first degree has always prescribed study and probation. 



166 OF ENTERED APPRENTICES. 

the Hosieries of the degree that he has already re- 
ceived, it is, by general consent, admitted that he 
has no right to be intrusted with further and more 
important information. The modern ritual sustains 
this doctrine, by requiring that the candidate, as a 
qualification in passing onward, shall have made 
" suitable proficiency in the preceding degree." 
This is all that the general law prescribes."" Suit- 
able proficiency must have been attained, and the 
period in which that condition will be acquired, 
must necessarily depend on the mental capacity of 
the candidate. Some men will become proficient 
in a shorter time than others, and of this fact the 
Master and the Lodge are to be the judges. An 
examination should therefore take place in open 
Lodge, and a ballot immediately following will ex- 
press the opinion of the Lodge on the result of 
that examination, and the qualification of the 
candidates. 

From the difficulty with which the second and 
third degrees were formerly obtained — a difficulty 
dependent on the fact that they were only conferred 
in the Grand Lodge — it is evident that Apprentices 
must have undergone a long probation before they 
had an opportunity of advancement, though the pre- 
cise term of the probation was decided by no legal 

* Unfortunately it is too much the usage, when the question is asked 
whether the candidate has made suitable proficiency in his preceding degree, 
to reply, " .such as time and circumstances would permit." I have no doubt 
that this is an innovation originally invented to evade the law, which has al- 
ways required a due proficiency. To such a question, no other answer oughl 
to be given than the positive and unequivocal one that " he has." 



OF" ENTERED APPRENTICES. 167 

enactment. Several modern Grand Lodges, how- 
ever, looking with disapprobation on the rapidity 
with which the degrees are sometimes conferred 
upon candidates wholly incompetent, have adopted 
special regulations, prescribing a determinate period 
of probation for each degree. This, however, is a 
local law, to be obeyed only in those jurisdictions 
in which it is of force. The general law of Masonry 
makes no such determinate provision of time, and 
demands only that the candidate shall give evidence 
of " suitable proficiency."* 

2. What number of black balls is necessary to con- 
stitute a rejection ? Here we are entirely without 
the guidance of any express law, as all the Ancient 
Constitutions are completely silent upon the subject. 
It seems to me. however, that in the advancement 
of an Apprentice, as well as in the election of a 
profane, the ballot should be unanimous. This is 
strictly in accordance with the principles of Ma- 
sonry, which require unanimity in admission, lest 
improper persons be intruded, and harmony im- 
paired. Greater qualifications are certainly not 
required of a profane applying for initiation than 
of an Apprentice seeking advancement ; nor can I 
see any reason why the test of those qualifications 

* The Constitution of the Grand Lodge of England contains the following 
provision : " No Lodge shall confer more than one degree on any Brother on 
the same day, nor shall a higher degree be conferred on any Brother at a 
less interval than four weeks from his receiving a previous degree, nor until 
he has passed an examination in open Lodge in that degree." A similar 
regulation prevails in many, if not most, of the Grand Lodges of the United 
States. 



168 OF ENTERED APPRENTICES. 

should not be as rigid in the one case as in the 
other. I am constrained therefore to believe, not- 
withstanding the adverse decision of the Grand 
Lodge of Wisconsin in 1849,* that on the applica- 
tion of an Entered Apprentice for advancement to 
the second degree, the ballot must be unanimously 
in his favor to secure the adoption of his petition. 
It may be stated, once for all, that in all cases of 
balloting for admission in any of the degrees of 
Masonry, a single black ball will reject. 

3. What time must elapse, after a first rejection, 
before the Apprentice can renew Ms application for 
advancement to the second degree ? Here, too, the 
Ancient Constitutions are silent, and we are left to 

* The Hon. Wm. R. Smith, at that time Grand Master of the Grand Lodge 
of Wisconsin, said, in 1849, that he considered it not only wrong in itself, but 
highly unmasonic to deny advancement to an Entered Apprentice or Fellow 
Craft, " by the operation of a single negative in the ballot box." And he 
advanced the doctrine that, " without sufficient cause shown to the contrary, 
the advancement may be demanded by the candidate as a matter of right. 
He has already submitted to the ordeal of a single negative in the ballot box, 
and he stands in the Lodge as a man and a Mason, subject to the action of 
a majority of his Brethren on his merits or his demerits." — Proc. Q. L. Wise, 
1849, p. 11. And the Grand Lodge decided, in accordance with this opin- 
ion, that an Entered Apprentice, should not be refused advancement, except 
by a vote of a majority of the Lodge. In commenting on this opinion and 
decision, the Committee of Foreign Correspondence of the G. L. of Florida, 
of which that able and experienced Mason, John P. Duval, was chairman, 
remarked : " We always supposed, if any one rule of ancient Masonry was 
more unquestionable than another, it was unanimity in balloting for initiating, 
passing and raising." — Proc. G. L. of Fla., 1851, p. 31. This view is sus- 
tained by the Grand Lodges of New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode 
Island, Iowa, Maryland and Ohio ; and the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin itself, 
the very next year, in its amended Constitution, adopted a provision declar- 
ing that " any member of a subordinate Lodge may object to the initiation, 
passing or 1'aising of a candidate, at any time before the degree is confer' 
red."— Const. G. L. Wise, part iv., art. iii., sect 7 ; anno 1850. 



OF ENTERED APPRENTICES. 169 

» -educe our opinions from the general principles and 
a lalogies of Masonic law. As the application for 
advancement to a higher degree is founded on a 
ri&ht eauring to the Apprentice, by virtue of his re- 
ception into the first degree — that is to say, as the 
Apprentice, so soon as he has been initiated, be- 
comes irvested with the right of applying for ad- 
vancement to the second — it seems evident that, as 
long as ho remains an Apprentice " in good stand- 
ing," he continues to be invested with that right. 
Now, the rrjection of his petition for advancement 
by the Lodge does not impair his right to apply 
again, because it does not, as I have already shown, 
affect his rights and standing as an Apprentice ; it 
is simply the expression of the opinion that the 
Lodge does not at present deem him qualified for 
further progress in Masonry. We must never for- 
get the difference between the right of applying for 
advancement and the. right of advancement. Every 
Apprentice possesses the former, but no one can 
claim the latter until it is given to him by the unani- 
mous vote of the Lodge. And as, therefore, this 
right of application or petition is not impaired by 
its rejection at a particular time, and as the Ap- 
prentice remains precisely in the same position in 
-his own degree, after the rejection, as he did before, 
it seems to follow as an irresistible deduction, that 
he may again apply at the next regular communica- 
tion ; and if a second time rejected, repeat his ap- 
plications at all future meetings. I hold that the 
Entered Apprentices of a Lodge are competent, at 



170 OF ENTERED APPRENTICES. 

all regular communications of their Lodge, to peti- 
tion for advancement. Whether that petition shall 
be granted or rejected is quite another thing, and 
depends altogether on the favor of the Lodge. 

This opinion has not, it is true, been universally 
adopted, though no force of authority, short of an 
opposing landmark, could make one doubt its cor- 
rectness. For instance, the Grand Lodge of Cali- 
fornia decided that " the application of Apprentices 
or Fellow Crafts for advancement, should, after 
they have been once rejected by ballot, be governed 
by the same principles which regulate the ballot on 
petitions for initiation, and which require a proba- 
tion of one year."* 

This appears to be a singular decision of Masonic 
law. If the reasons which prevent the advancement 
of an Apprentice or Fellow Craft to a higher de- 
gree, are of such a nature as to warrant the delay 
of one year, it is far better to prefer charges against 
the petitioner, and to give him the opportunity of a 
fair and impartial trial. In many cases, a candi- 
date for advancement is retarded in his progress 
from an opinion on the part of the Lodge that he 
is not yet sufficiently prepared for promotion by a 
knowledge of the preceding degree — an objection 
which may sometimes be removed before the recur- 

* Proceedings G. L. of California, 1857. Several Grand Lodges have 
prescribed a certain period which must elapse before a rejected Apprentice 
can apply a second time for advancement. These are, however, only local 
regulations, and are unsupported by the ancient Landmarks or the genera] 
principles of Masonic law, being rather, as I think I have shewn, in opposi 
tion to the latter. 



OF ENTERED APPRENTICES. 171 

renco of the next monthly meeting. In such a case, 
a decision like that of the Grand Lodge of Cali- 
fornia would "be productive of manifest injustice. 
I hold it, therefore, to be a more consistent rule, 
that the candidate for advancement has a right to 
apply at every regular meeting, and that whenever 
any moral objections exist to his taking a higher 
degree, these objections should be made in the form 
of charges, and their truth tested by an impartial 
trial. To this, too, the candidate is undoubtedly 
entitled, on all the principles of justice and equity. 
Whatever may be the rights of an Entered Ap- 
prentice, they are liable to forfeiture for misconduct, 
and he may be suspended, expelled, or otherwise 
masonically punished, upon adequate cause and 
sufficient proof. An Apprentice may therefore be 
tried, but the trial must be conducted in the first 
degree ; for every man is entitled to trial by his 
peers. But as none but Master Masons can inflict 
punishment, since they alone now constitute the 
body of the craft, the final decision must be made in 
the third degree. He is also entitled to an appeal 
to the Grand Lodge, from the sentence of his Lodge, 
because the benign spirit of our institution will al- 
low no man to be unjustly condemned ; and it is 
made the duty of the Grand Lodge to see that the 
rights of even the humblest member of the Order 
shall not be unjustly invaded, but that impartial 
justice is administered to all. This question of the 
trial of Entered Apprentices will, however, be re- 
sumed on a subsequent occasion, when we arrive at 
the topic of Masonic trials. 



CHAPTER II. 
®t jfelioto drafts. 

It was stated in the preceding chapter that there 
was a time, in the early part of the eighteenth cen- 
tury, when Apprentices composed the body of the 
craft, and when the membership in the subordinate 
Lodges seldom extended, except as to the presiding 
officers, beyond the possessors of that degree, But 
it was also remarked that this statement was to be 
taken with some reservation, as there appears cer- 
tainly to have been a still earlier period in the his- 
tory of the Order, when Apprentices did not occupy 
this elevated and important position, and when the 
body of the membership was composed of Fellow 
Crafts. 

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and 
at still more remote periods, the operative element 
constituted an important ingredient in the organiza- 
tion of the institution.* The divisions of the mem- 

* So much was this the case that Preston informs us that, in the very be- 
ginning of the 18th century, it was found necessary, for the purpose of in- 
creasing the number of members, to adopt a proposition by which " the 
privileges of Masonry should no longer be restricted to operative Ilasons, 
but extend to men of various professions, provided that they were regularly 



OF FELLOW CRAFTS. 178 

bers into grades at that time were necessarily 
assimilated to the wants of such an operative insti- 
tution. There were Masters to superintend the 
work, Fellow Crafts, or, as they were almost always 
called, Fellows, to perform the labor, and Appren- 
tices, to be instructed in the principles of the art. 
Hence, in all the oldest records, we find constant 
allusions to the Fellows, as constituting the main 
body of the fraternity ; and the word " Fellow," at 
that time, appears to have been strictly synonymous 
with " Freemason." Thus, Elias Ashmole, the cele- 
brated antiquary, says in his " Diary," that on the 
16th of October, 1646, he " was made a Freemason 
at Warrington, Lancashire, with Colonel Henry 
Mainwaring, of Kerthingham, in Cheshire, by Mr. 
Richard Penket, the Warden, and the Fellow Crafts" 
And again, under the date of March 10th, 1682, 
when speaking of another reception which took 
place on that day at Masons' Hall, in London, he 
says : " I was the Senior Fellow among them — it 
being thirty-five years since I was admitted. There 
were present, besides myself, the Fellows after 
named," and he proceeds to give the names of these 
Fellows, which it is unnecessary to quote. 



approved and initiated into the Order." — Preston, p. 180. This quotation 
from Preston is an instance of that carelessness in the statement of facts 
which was the " easily besetting sin ; ' of our early Masonic writers, and which 
will prove the greatest embarrassment to him who shall undertake to write, 
what is yet to be written, a Philosophical History of Freemasonry. Preston 
must have known, if he had reflected at all on the subject, that the restric- 
tion against the admission of professional and literary men had been pre 
viously removed, or how could such men as Ashmole have been initiated? 



174 OF FELLOW CEAFTS. 

Throughout the whole of the Ancient Charges and 
Regulations, until we get to those emendations of 
them which were adopted in 1721 and 1722, we find 
no reference to the Apprentices, except as a subor- 
dinate and probationary class, while the Fellow 
Crafts assume the position of the main body of the 
fraternity, that position which, in the present day, is 
occupied by the Master Masons. 

Thus, in the Old York Constitutions of 926, it is 
said, "No man shall be false to the craft, or enter- 
tain a prejudice against his Master or Fellows."'* 
And again : " No Mason shall debauch .... the 
wife .... of his Master or Fellows ;"t where 
clearly " Master 7 '' is meant to designate the presid- 
ing officer simply, who might or might not, for all 
that we know, have been in possession of a higher 
degree, while " Fellows" denote the whole body of 
members of the Lodge. But these Constitutions are 
still more explicit in the use of the term, when 
they tell us that the " General Assembly or Grand 
Lodge shall consist of Masters and Fellows, Lords, 
Knights," &c.J 

* Old York Const., point 4. In the original, from Halliwell's manuscript, 
the law is thus expressed, and I quote it because the Apprentices are here 
described as a distinct class : 

" Ny no pregedysse he shall not do 
To his mayster, ny his fellowes also ; 
And that the prentes be under awe, 
That he wolde have the same law." 
f Point 7. In the original thus : 

" Thou schal not by thy maystres wyf ly, 
Ny by thy felowes." 
i Point 12. In the original : 

" Ther as the semble y-holde schal be, 
Ther schal be maystrys and felowes also." 



OF FELLOW CRAFTS. 175 

In the " Ancient Installation Charges,"* which 
are of a date between 1685 and 1688, the word 
" Fellow" is very exactly defined as signifying a 
" Mason," for it is there said : " Ye shall call all 
Masons your Fellows, or your Brethren, and no 
other names." And in the " Ancient Charges at 
Makings," which will be found in the First Book of 
this volume,t we aro told that it is the duty 
of " the Master to live honestly, and to pay his 
Fellows truly." Again : that " every Master and 
Fellow shall come to the assembly, if it be 
within fifty miles of him, if he have any warning." 
And lastly, that " every Mason shall receive and 
cherish strange Fellows, when they come over the 
country." 

During all this time, the Apprentices are seldom 
alluded to, and then only as if in a subordinate posi- 
tion, and without the possession of any important 
prerogatives. Thus, they are thrice spoken of only 
in the York Constitutions of 926, where the Master 

* See them in this work, p. 49. 

f On page 51. In re-publishing these Charges, on tlwpage just quoted, 
it was merely stated that they were contained in a MS. in the Lodge of An- 
tiquity in London. But it should also have been added that they are to be 
also found in the Library of the British Museum, among the Landsdowne 
MSS., which are a large collection of papers and letters that were collected 
by Lord Burleigh, who, in 1572, was Lord Treasurer of England, under 
Queen Elizabeth. These papers are known as the " Burleigh Papers ; ; ' and 
one of them, marked in the catalogue of the Landsdowne MSS. as No. 98, 
Article 48, is a curious legend of the origin of Freemasonry, which terminates 
with those Ancient Charges which I have cited on page 51. The " Ancient 
Charges at Makings 1 ' are therefore certainly to be traced back as far as the 
middle of the sixteenth century, and it is T»-obable that they existed at a 
much earlier period 



176 OF FELLOW CRAFTS. 

is directed to take no Apprentice "for less ,/ian 
seven years f to take care, in the* admission of an 
Apprentice, " that he do his lord no prejudice f and 
to " instruct his Apprentice faithfully, and make him 
a perfect workman. 77 And in the " Ancient Charges 
at Makings, 77 it is implied that either a Master or 
Fellow may take an Apprentice. 

These citations from the Ancient Regulations 
need not be extended. From them we may collect 
the facts, or at least the very probable suppositions, 
that in the very earliest history of the Order, 
the operative character predominating, the Fellow 
Crafts, under the designation of " Fellows, 77 consti- 
tuted the main body of the fraternity, while the 
Masters were the superintendents of the work ; 
that at a later period, about the beginning of the 
eighteenth century, the speculative character pre- 
dominating, the Apprentices arose in dignity and 
became the body of the fraternity,"* while the Fel- 
low Crafts and Master Masons were intrusted with 
the offices ; and that still later, at some time in the 
course of the eighteenth century, which certainly 
was not very long after the year 1725, the Ap- 
prentices and Fellow Crafts descended into a sub- 
ordinate position, just such an one as the former 

* Dr. Outer, in his " Dissertation on the State of Freemasonry in the 
Eighteenth Century," corroborates this view. He says : " Thus our brethren 
of the eighteenth century seldom advanced beyond the first degree. Few 
were passed, and still fewer were raised from their ' mossy bed.' The Mas- 
ter's degree appears to have been much less comprehensive than at present r 
and for some years after the revival of Masonry, the third degree was unap 
proachable to those who lived at a distance from London." 



OF FELLOW CEAFTS. 177 

class had originally occupied, and the Master Masons 
alone composed the body of the craft. 

At the present day, Fellow Crafts possess no 
more rights and prerogatives than do Entered Ap- 
prentices. Preston, indeed, in his charge to a can- 
didate who has been passed to that degree, says 
that he is entitled in the meetings to express his 
" sentiments and opinions on such subjects as are 
regularly introduced in the lecture, under the super- 
intendence of an experienced Master, who will 
guard the landmark against encroachment." If this 
only means that in the course of instruction he may 
respectfully make suggestions for the purpose of 
eliciting further information, no one will, I pre- 
sume, be willing to deny such a privilege. But the 
traditional theory that Apprentices were not per- 
mitted to speak or vote, but that Fellow Crafts 
might exercise the former right, but not the latter, 
has no foundation in any positive law that I have 
been enabled to discover. I have never seen this 
prerogative of speaking assumed by a Fellow-Craft 
in this country, and doubt whether it would be per- 
mitted in any well regulated Lodge. 

It was certainly the usage to permit both Appren- 
tices and Fellow Crafts to vote, as well as to speak, 
but there never was such a distinction as that al- 
luded to in the text. The Old Regulations of the 
Grand Lodge of England provided that " the Grand 
Master shall allow any Brother, a Fellow Craft, or 
Entered Prentice, to speak, directing his discourse 
to his worship in the chair ; or to make any motion 



178 OF FELLOW CRAFTS. 

for the good of the fraternity, which shall be either 
immediately considered; or else referred to the con- 
sideration of the Grand Lodge, at their next 
communication, stated or occasional." But this regu- 
lation has long since been abrogated. 

Fellow Crafts formerly possessed the right of 
being elected Wardens of their Lodge * and even of 
being promoted to the elevated post of Grand 
Master,t although, of course — and the language of 
the Regulation implies the fact — a Fellow Craft 
who had been elected Grand Master, must, after his 
election, be invested with the Master's degree. 

At the present day, Fellow Crafts possess no 
other rights than those of sitting in a Lodge of 
their degree, of applying for advancement, and 
of being tried by their peers for Masonic offences, 
with the necessary privilege of an appeal to the 
Grand Lodge. But, as in the exercise of these 
rights, all that has been said in the preceding chap- 
ter, as relating to Entered Apprentices, is equally 
applicable to Fellow Crafts, the discussion need not 
be repeated. 

* " No Brother can be a Warden until he has passed the part of a Fellow 
Craft." — Charges of 1722. In the manner of constituting a new Lodge, aa 
practised by his Grace the Duke of Wharton, (Anderson's Const., first ed. 
p. 72,) it is said : " Then the Grand Master desires the new Master to enter 
immediately upon the exercise of his office, in chusing his Wardens ; and 
the new Master, calling forth two Fellow Craft, presents them to the Grand 
Master." 

f " No Brother can be ... . Grand Master unless he has been a Fellow 
Craft before his election."— Charges of 1722. 



CHAPTER III. 
©f faster $Uusoub. 

When an initiate lias been raised to " the sublime 
degree of a Master Mason," lie becomes, strictly 
speaking, under the present regulations of our 
institution, an active member of the fraternity, 
invested with certain rights, and obligated to the 
performance of certain duties, which are of so 
extensive and complicated a nature as to demand 
a special consideration for each. 

Of the rights of Master Masons, the most im- 
portant are the following : 

1. The Eight of Membership ; 

2. The Right of Affiliation ; 

3. The Right of Visit; 

4. The Right of Avouchment; 

5. The Right of Relief ; 

6. The Right of Demission; 

7. The Right of Appeal; 

8. The Right of Burial; 

9. The Right of Trial. 

Each of these important rights, except the last, 
will be made the topic of a distinct section. The 



180 RIGHT OF MEMBERSHIP. 

consideration of the Right of Trial, as it forms a 
natural concomitant to the doctrine of Masonic 
crimes and punishments, will therefore be more 
properly considered in a subsequent part of this 
work, where it will find its legitimate place. 

SECTION I. 

OF THE RIGHT OF MEMBERSHIP. 

The first right which a Mason acquires, after the 
reception of the third degree, is that of claiming 
membership in the Lodge in which he has been ini- 
tiated. The very fact of his having received that 
degree, makes him at once an inchoate member of 
the Lodge — that is to say, no further application is 
necessary, and no new ballot is required ; but the 
candidate, having now become a Master Mason, 
upon signifying his submission to the regulations 
of the Society, by affixing his signature to the book 
of by-laws, is constituted, by virtue of that act, a 
full member of the Lodge, and entitled to all the 
rights and prerogatives accruing to that position. 

The ancient Constitutions do not, it is true, ex- 
press this doctrine in so many words ; but it is dis- 
tinctly implied by their whole tenor and spirit, as 
well as sustained by the uniform usage of the craft, 
in all countries. There is one passage in the Regu- 
lations of 1721 which clearly seems to intimate that 
there were two methods of obtaining membership 
in a Lodge, either by initiation, when the candidate 
is said t<r be " entered a Brother," or by what is 



EIGHT OF MEMBERSHIP. 181 

now called " affiliation/ 7 when the applicant is said 
to be ' ; admitted to be a member." Bat the whole 
phraseology of the Regulation shows that the rights 
acquired by each method were the same, and that 
membership by initiation and membership by affilia- 
tion effected the same results.* The modern Con- 
stitutions of the Grand Lodge of England are 
explicit on the subject, and declare that " every 
Lodge must receive as a member, without further 
proposition or ballot, any Brother initiated therein, 
provided such Brother express his wish to that 
effect on the day of his initiation. "f 

The Constitution of the Grand Lodge of New 
York announces a similar doctrine ;% and, in fact, I 
have not met with the by-laws of any particular 
Lodge in which it is not laid down as a principle, 
that every initiate is entitled, by his reception in 
the third degree, to claim the privilege of member- 
ship in the Lodge in which he has been initiated. 

The reason of this universal Regulation, (so uni- 
versal that were it not for the fact that membership 
itself, as a permanent characteristic, is of modern 
origin, it might almost claim to be a Landmark,) is 
at once evident. He who has been deemed worthy, 
after three ordeals, to receive all the mysteries that 

* The passage referred to is to be found in Art. vi. of the Regulations of 

1721 See ante,p. 66. The preceding Regulation says : " No man can be 

made or admitted a member," where clearly it is meant that a man " is made " 
a member by initiation, and " admitted ; ' by affiliation, upon petition. 

f Const, of G. L. of England, of Private Lodges, § 16, p. 64. 

^ " Initiation makes a man a Mason ; but he must receive the Master 
Mason's degree, and sign the by-laws, before he becomes a member of the 
Lodge."— Const. G. L. of JSf. Y., § 8, subd. 15. 



182 RIGHT OP MEMBERSHIP. 

it is in the power of a Lodge to communicate, can- 
not, with any show of reason or consistency, be 
withheld from admission into that household, whose 
most important privileges he has just been permitted 
to share. If properly qualified for the reception of 
the third degree, he must be equally qualified for 
the rights of membership, which, in fact, it is the 
object of the third degree to bestow ; and it would 
be needless to subject that candidate to a fourth 
ballot, whom the Lodge has already, by the most 
solemn ceremonies, three times declared worthy 
" to be taken by the hand as a Brother." And 
hence the Grand Lodge of England has wisely as- 
signed this as a reason for the law already quoted, 
namely, that " no Lodge should introduce into 
Masonry a person whom the Brethren might con- 
sider unfit to be a member of their own Lodge."* 

But this inchoate membership is to be perfected, 
it will be recollected, by the initiate, only upon his 
affixing his signature to the by-laws. He does not 
by his mere reception into the third degree, become 
a member of the Lodge. He may not choose to 
perfect that inchoation ; he may desire to affiliate 
with some other Lodge ; and in such a case, by de- 
clining to affix his signature to the by-laws, he re- 
mains in the condition of unaffiliation. By having 
been raised to the third degree, he acquires a claim 
to membership, but no actual membership. It is 
left to his own option whether he will assert or for- 
feit that claim. If he declines to sign the by-law,s 

* Const. Grand Lodge of England, ut supra. 



RIGHT OF MEMBERSHIP. 183 

he forfeits his claim ; if he signs them, he asserts it, 
and becomes ipso factor member. 

Now, the next question that arises is, how long 
does the right of asserting that claim inure to the 
candidate ; in other words, how long is it after his 
reception that the recipient may still come forward, 
and by affixing his signature to the by-laws, avail 
himself of his right of membership, and without 
further application or ballot, be constituted a mem- 
ber of the Lodge in which he has been initiated ? 

Although the landmarks and ancient Constitu- 
tions leave us without any specific reply to this 
question, analogy and the just conclusions to be de 
rived from the reason of the law, are amply sufficient 
to supply us with an answer. 

The newly made candidate, it has already been 
intimated, possesses the right to claim his member- 
ship without further ballot, on the reasonable ground 
that, as he was deemed worthy of reception into the 
third degree, it would be idle to suppose that he 
was not equally worthy of admission into full 
membership ; and we have seen that this was the 
reason assigned by the Grand Lodge of England 
for the incorporation of this provision into its 
constitution. 

Now, this is undoubtedly an excellent and un- 
answerable reason for his admission to membership, 
immediately upon his reception. But the reason 
loses its force if any time is permitted to elapse 
between the reception of the degree and the admis- 
sion to membership. No man knows what a day 



184 EIGHT OF MEMBERSHIP. 

may bring forth. He that was worthy on Monday, 
may on Tuesday have committed some act by which 
his worthiness will be forfeited. It may be true, as 
the Roman satirist expresses it. that no man becomes 
suddenly wicked ;* and it may be reasonable to sup- 
pose that, for some time after his initiation, the 
habits and character of the initiate will remain un- 
changed, and therefore that for a certain period the 
members of the Lodge will be justified in believing 
the candidate whom they have received to continue 
in possession of the same qualifications of charac- 
ter and conduct "which had recommended and ob- 
tained his reception. But how are we to determine 
the extent of that period, and the time when it will 
be unsafe to predicate of the recipient a continuance 
of good character ? It is admitted that after three 
months, it would be wrong to draw any conclusions 
as to the candidate's qualifications, from what was 
known of him on the day of his reception ; and ac- 
cordingly many Lodges have prescribed as a regu- 
lation, that if he does not within that period claim 
his right of membership, and sign the by-laws, that 
right shall be forfeited, and he can then only be ad- 
mitted upon application, and after ballot. But why 
specify three months, and not two, or four, or six ? 
Upon what principle of ethics is the number three 
to be especially selected? The fact is, that the 
moment that we permit the initiate to extend the 
privilege of exercising his right beyond the time 
which is concurrent with his reception, the reasor 

* " Nemo repente fuit turpissimus." — Juvenal* 



EIGHT OF MEMBERSHIP. 185 

of the law is lost. The candidate haying been 
deemed worthy of receiving the third degree, must, 
at the time < f his reception of that degree, also be 
presumed to be worthy of membership. This is in 
the reason of things. But if a month, a week, or a 
single day is allowed to elapse, there is no longer a 
certainty of the continuance of that worthiness ; the 
known mutability and infirmity of human character 
are against the presumption, and the question of its 
existence should then be tested by a ballot. 

Again, one of the reasons why a unanimous ballot 
is required is, that a " fractious member" shall not 
be imposed on the Lodge, or one who would " spoil 
its harmony. 77 * Now, if A is admitted to receive 
the third degree on a certain evening, with the 
unanimous consent of all the Lodge, which must, of 
necessity, include the affirmative vote of B, then on 
the same evening he must be qualified for admission 
to membership, because it is not to be presumed that 
B would be willing that A should receive the third 
degree, and yet be unwilling to sit with him in the 
Lodge as a fellow-member ; and therefore A may be 
admitted at once to membership, without a needless 
repetition of the ballot, which, of course, had been 
taken on his application for the degree. But if any 
length of time is permitted to elapse, and if, after a 
month, for instance, A comes forward to avail him- 
self of his right of admission, then he shall not be 
admitted without a ballot; because, between the 
time of his reception at the preceding meeting, and 

* Regulations of 1721, art. i. 



186 RIGHT OF MEMBERSHIP. 

the time of his application at the subsequent one, 
something may have occurred between himself and 
B, a member of the Lodge, which would render him 
objectionable to the latter, and his admission would 
then " spoil the harmony" of the Lodge, and " hinder 
its freedom." 

The Regulation, therefore, adopted by the Grand 
Lodge of England, which prescribes that the candi- 
date, to avoid a ballot, must express his wish to be 
received a member on the day of his initiation, that 
is, of his reception into the third degree,* seems to 
be the only proper one. Any Regulation that ex- 
tends the period, and permits the candidate to sign 
the by-laws and become a member without a ballot, 
provided he does so within two or three months, or 
any other determined period extending beyond the 
day of his reception, is contrary to the spirit and 
tenor of the law, and is calculated to be sometimes 
of a mischievous tendency. If the candidate does 
not assert his right on the day of his reception into 
the third degree, he loses it altogether ; and must, 
to acquire membership, submit to a petition and 
ballot, as in the case of any other affiliation. 

Before proceeding to an examination of the rights 
and duties of membership, it is proper that we 
should briefly discuss the question whether a Mason 

* The modern Constitutions of the G. L. of England constantly use the 
word " initiation" as synonymous with " reception into the third degree." 
Thus, on p. 66 : " Each Lodge shall procure for every Brother initiated 
therein a Grand Lodge certificate." But Grand Lodge certificates are only 
granted to Master Masons, and therefore the term initiated, in this article, 
must signify raised to the third degree. 



RIGHT OF MEMBERSHIP. 187 

can be a member of more than one Lodge at the 
same time. The Ancient Constitutions make no 
allusion to this double membership, either by way 
of commendation or prohibition ; but it must be ad- 
mitted that in all those old documents the phraseo 
logy is such as to imply that no Mason belonged to 
more than one Lodge at a time. On the other 
hand, however, a Regulation was adopted by the 
Grand Lodge of England, in February, 1724, pre- 
scribing that " no Brother shall belong to more than 
one Lodge within the bills of mortality,"* that is, 
in the city of London. Now, two deductions are 
to be made from the adoption of such a Regulation 
at so early a period as only two years after the ap- 
proval of the " Old Charges," which are considered 
by many as almost equivalent to Landmarks. These 
deductions are, first, that at that time Masons were 
in the habit of joining more than one Lodge at a 
time, and secondly, that although the Grand Lodge 
forbade this custom in the Lodges of the city, it had 
no objection to its being continued in the country. 
But the Regulation does not seem ever to have been 
enforced ; for, in 1738, Dr. Anderson found occasion 
to write, " But this Regulation is neglected, for 
several reasons, and is now obsolete" — a remark 
that is repeated in 1756, in the third edition of the 
Book of Constitutions. t 

I doubt the expediency of any Mason being an 
active member of more than one Lodge, and I am 

* See Anderson's Constitutions, edit. 1738, p. 154. 
1 Book of Coast, edit. 1756, p. 313. 



188 RIGHT OF MEMBERSHIP. 

sure of its inconveniency to himself.* Yet, if any 
one is disposed to submit to this inconvenience, I 
know of no Landmark or ancient Regulation that 
forbids him. The Old Charge, which says that 
every Mason should belong to a Lodge, does not 
imply that he may not belong to two ; but in that 
case, suspension or expulsion by one Lodge would 
act as suspension or expulsion by both. As, how- 
ever, this matter constitutes no part of Ancient 
Masonic Law, it is competent for any Grand Lodge 
to make a local Eegulation on the subject, which 
will of course be of force in its own' jurisdiction. t 

* "It is as true in Masonry as elsewhere that no man can serve two mas- 
ters. Whenever tried, the impossibility of rendering a divided allegiance 
perfect in each case, becomes at once apparent. The call of one body may 
lie in exactly a contrary direction from that of the other, given at the same 
instant of time. A member of two or more Lodges may be summoned to 
appear before each, with which he is thus connected, on the same evening. 
How, then, is he to fulfill his duties ? Which summons should he obey ?" — 
Com. For. Corres. G. L. of Illinois, 1845, p. 54. 

t Thus the Grand Lodge of Virginia says : " Any Brother may be a mem- 
ber of as many Lodges as choose to admit him." — Method. Digest in 
Dove's Masonic Text-Book, p. 252. The Grand Lodge of South Carolina 
says : " No Brother shall be a member of two Lodges at the same time, 
within three miles of each other, without a dispensation from the Grand 
Master." — Rules and Regulations, xix. 16. The Grand Lodge of New 
York prescribes that " no Mason can be in full membership in more than 
one Lodge at the same time." — Const., tit. v., § 25. I find also the following 
Regulations in other Grand Lodges : " No Brother shall be a member of more 
than one subordinate Lodge at the same time." — Const. G. L. New Hamp. 
" No Lodge shall admit to membership any Brother who is already a mem- 
ber of a Lodge und^r the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge." — Const. G. L. 
Maryland. " No Brother can be a member of more than one Lodge at the 
same time." — Const. G. L. Missouri. "No Brother shall be a member of 
more than one Lodge." — Const. G. L. Michigan. The Grand Lodges of 
England and Ireland, and I think of Scotland, permit Masons to be members 
of more than one Lodge, but not to hold office in each, except by a djsr^' 



RIGHT OF MEMBERSHIP. 189 

Where there is no such local Regulation^ a Mason 
may be a member of as many Lodges as he pleases, 
and which will admit him. 

Honorary membership is quite a recent invention, 
and is now conferred only as a mark of distinction 
on Brethren of great talents or merits, who have 
been of service, by their labors or their writings, to 
the fraternity. It confers no powers on the re- 
cipient like those which are the results of active or 
full membership, and amounts to no more than a 
testimonial of the esteem and respect entertained by 
the Lodge which confers it for the individual upon 
whom it is conferred. 

The Virginia Committee on Masonic Jurispru- 
dence in 1856, give a different definition of honor- 
ary membership. They say : " We mean by honorary 
member one who is entitled to all the privileges and 
honors conferred by Lodge membership, while he is 
exempt from all the requirements of such Lodge, as 
set forth in its by-laws ; he pays no dues, attends no 
summons, except voluntarily,"* &c. If by the ex- 

sation. Dr. Outer calls the rule forbidding this double membership " an 
absurd law." On the whole, after due investigation, I am led to believe that 
formerly it was by no means unusual, as is now the case in Europe, for 
Masons to belong to more Lodges than one, but that recently a disposition 
has been exhibited among our Grand Lodges to discountenance the practice. 
As I have already said, it is to be regarded altogether as a mere matter of 
local regulation. If not prohibited by a special Regulation of a Grand Lodge, 
it is not forbidden by the Landmarks and Ancient Constitutions. 

* The cases to which the Virginia Committee confine honorary member- 
ship seem to show that they viewed it as differing in no respect from active 
or full membership. It should, they think, be conferred only on a poor 
Brother who cannot afford to pay arrears ; on a Past Master, who is needed 



190 EIGHT OF MEMBERSHIP. 

pression, " who is entitled to all the privileges and 
honors conferred by Lodge membership," the com- 
mittee, as the words purport, intend to convey thp 
idea that such a member may vote on all questions 
before the Lodge, as well as on petitions and at 
elections, may hold office, and represent the Lodge 
in the Grand Lodge, I can see no difference between 
a Mason occupying such a position of honoraiy 
membership and one holding membership in two 
Lodges at the same time. Such an honorary mem- 
ber is nothing more than an active member, excused 
by the Lodge from the payment of annual dues. I 
have just shown that there is no* constitutional ob- 
jection to such a condition of things, if the local 
regulations of the jurisdiction permit it, however 
its expediency may be doubted. But this is not 
the kind of honorary membership which is gene- 
rally understood by that title. Lexicographers cer- 
tainly give a very different definition of the word. 
Johnson, for instance, defines honorary as " confer- 
to organize a new Lodge, and yet who is unwilling to leave his own ; on old 
members of a dormant Lodge, whose names are necessary after their affilia- 
tion with other Lodges, for the purpose of reviving the dormant one ; and on 
Masons called by duty to be absent for a length of time in a foreign country, 
in which case honorary membership, instead of a demit, is to be granted. 
It is strange, with this last case in view, that the Committee should have 
closed this part of their report with the declaration that they " disapprove 
of the practice of electing to honorary membership, when that election 
exempts the brother from all or any of the requirements of Masonry." I can 
conceive of no greater drone in the Masonb hive than the Mason who, be- 
cause he is about to leave home for a temporary period, would require a de- 
mit, that he might be exempted from the payment of annual dues during his 
absence. Certainly such a Mason is the last man to be entitled to an 
honorarium from the Order. 



EIGHT OF MEMBERSHIP. 191 

ring honor without gain," and he cites the follow- 
ing example of the word from Addison : " The 
Romans abounded with little honorary rewards, that 
without conferring wealth and riches, gave only 
place and distinction to the person who received 
them." Webster also sa} r s that the word honorary 
signifies " possessing a title or place, without per- 
forming services or receiving a reward, as an honor- 
ary member of a society." In this view, honorary 
membership will be a pleasing token of the estima- 
tion in which a distinguished Brother is held, and 
will be conferred honoris causa, for the sake of the 
honor which, it conveys, without bringing with the 
acquisition any rights or prerogatives, which should 
belong alone to active membership.* If this title 
of merit is hereafter to be adopted, as it seems pro- 
bable that it will be, as a usage of the fraternity, it 
is almost needless to say that it should be conferred 
only on one who is affiliated by active membership 
in some other Lodge. Unaffiliated Masons should 
receive none of the honors of the craft. 

The Committee of Foreign Correspondence of the 
Grand Lodge of North Carolina, in 1851, used this 
language : " We condemn this principle [honor- 
ary membership] as un-masonic and improper. No 

* The Constitution of the Grand Lodge of New York recognizes the con 
dition of honorary membership, and defines honorary members as being 
" members of a Subordinate Lodge by adoption" — a definition which I confess 
I am at a loss to comprehend. It prescribes that it may be conferred on a 
poor Brother who is unable to pay dues, which, if he is invested with the 
right of voting and holding office, is, as I have said above, only active nerc 
her ship, without the payment of arsearages. 



192 RIGHT OP MEMBERSHIP. 

ancient precedent can "be given — no ancient lan- 
guage cited to justify it. It is following too muck 
after the devices and delusions of tlie world. We 
are taught that worldly honor should not be made 
to bear upon a person's advancement in the honors 
of Masonry. It is only the Mason who can best 
work who should be advanced and made honorable 
in the Order." Granted, and this is exactly what is 
proposed to be done by the establishment of honor- 
ary membership. Masons who have wrought dili- 
gently in the Order, and for the Order, who by 
their labors have instructed their brethren and 
elevated the character of the institution, should 
" be advanced and made honorable in the Order ;" 
and I know of no easier and yet more gratifying 
method of doing so than bv electing them as honor- 
ary members. Other societies, literary and profes- 
sional, have adopted this system of rewarding those 
who have faithfully labored in their respective 
vineyards ; and I can see no valid objections, but 
many excellent reasons, why Masonry should adopt 
the same course. If to reward merit be one of the 
" devices and delusions of the world," the sooner 
we allow it to lead us onward, the better for us and 
the institution. 

Having thus disposed of the questions of double 
and of honorary membership, it is proper that we 
should now inquire into the prerogatives, as well as 
the duties which result from active membership in a 
Masonic Lodge. 

Every Master Mason, who is a member of a Lodge, 



RIGHT OF MEMBERSHIP. 193 

has a right to speak and vote on all questions that 
come before the Lodge for discussion, except on 
trials in which he is himself interested. Rules of 
order may be established restricting the length and 
number of speeches, but these are of a local nature, 
and will vary with the by-laws of each Lodge. 

A Mason may also be restricted from voting on 
ordinary questions where his dues for a certain 
period — generally twelve months — have not been 
paid ; and such a Regulation exists in almost every 
Lodge. But no local by-law can deprive a member 
who has not been suspended, from voting on the 
ballot for the admission of candidates, because the 
Sixth Regulation of 1721 distinctly requires that 
each member present on such occasion shall give 
his consent before the candidate can be admitted.* 
And if a member were deprived, by any by-law of 
the Lodge, in consequence of non-payment of his 
dues, of the right of expressing his consent or dis- 
sent, the ancient Regulation would be violated, and 
a candidate might be admitted without the unani- 
mous consent of all the members present. 

Every member of a Lodge is eligible to any office 
in the Lodge, except that of Worshipful Master. 
Eligibility for this latter office is only to be acquired 
by having previously held the office of a Warden/!* 

* " But no man can be entered a Brother of any particular Lodge, or ad- 
mitted to be a member thereof, without the unanimous consent of all the 
members of that Lodge then present when the candidate is proposed." — 
Beg. 0/1721, art. vi. 

f " No Brother can be a Warden until he has passed the part of a Fellow 
Craft ; nor a Master until he has acted as a Warden."- -Charges of 1722, 

9 



194 EIGHT OF MEMBERSHIP; 

But in the instance of new Lodges, the Grand Mas- 
ter^may, by his dispensation, authorize any compe- 
tent Master Mason to discharge the duties of Master. 
In cases of emergency also, in old Lodges, where 
none of the Past officers are willing to serve, the 
Grand Master may issue his dispensation authoriz- 
ing the Lodge to select a presiding officer from the 
floor. But this can only be done with the consent 
of all the Wardens and Past Masters ; for, if any 
one of them is willing to serve, the Lodge shall not 
be permitted to elect a Brother who has not pre- 
viously performed the duties of a Warden. 

The payment of dues is a duty incumbent on all 
the members of a Lodge, which, although of com- 
paratively recent date, is now of almost universal 
usage. Formerly, that is to say, before the revival 
of Masonry in 1717, Lodges received no warrants 5 
but a sufficient number of Brethren, meeting to- 
gether, were competent to make Masons, and prac- 
tice the rites of Masonry.* After the temporary 
business which had called them together had been 
performed, the Lodge was dissolved until some simi- 
lar occasion should, summon the Brethren again 
together. There was then no permanent organiza- 
tion — no necessity for a Lodge fund — and conse- 
quently no Regulation requiring the payment of 
annual dues. When Lodges, however, became per- 

§ iv. Fellow Crafts then constituted the body of the fraternity. Master 
Masons have now taken their place, and whatever is said in the Old Consti- 
tutions of the former, is at this day, in general, applicable to the latter. 
* Pkeston, Illustrations, p. 182 



RIGHT OF MEMBERSHIP. 195 

manently established by warrants of Constitution, 
permanent membership followed, and of course the 
payment of some contribution was required from 
each member as a fund towards defraying the ex- 
penses of the Lodge. It is not a general Masonic 
duty, in which the Mason is affected towards the 
whole body of the craft, as in the duty of moral 
deportment, but is to be regarded simply in the 
light of a pecuniary contract, the parties to which 
are the Lodge and its members. Hence it is not 
prescribed or regulated by any of the Ancient Con- 
stitutions, nor is it a matter with which Grand 
Lodges should ever interfere. However, as the 
non-payment of dues .to a Lodge has of late years 
been very generally considered as a Masonic offence, 
(which, by the way, it is not always,) and as punish- 
ment of some kind has been adopted for its enforce- 
ment, this subject will be again resumed when we 
arrive at that part of the present work which treats 
of Masonic crimes and punishments. 

The other rights and duties of Master Masons, 
which are in part connected with the condition of 
membership, such as the right of demission, of visit 
and of relief, are so important in their nature as tc 
demand for each a separate section. 



196 RIGHT OF AFFILIATION. 

SECTION II. 

OF THE EIGHT OF AFFILIATION. 

Masonic membership is acquired,. as I have already 
said, in two ways ; first, by initiation into a Lodge, 
and secondly, by admission, after initiation, into 
another Lodge, upon petition and ballot. The for- 
mer method constituted the subject of discussion in 
the previous section ; the latter, which is termed 
" affiliation," will be considered in the present. 

All the rights and duties that accrue to a Master 
Mason, by virtue of membership in the Lodge in 
which he was initiated, likewise accrue to him who 
has been admitted to membership by affiliation. 
There is no difference in the relative standing of 
either class of members : their prerogatives, their 
privileges, and their obligations are the same. It 
is therefore unnecessary to repeat what has been 
said in the preceding section in reference to the 
rights of membership, as everything that was there 
written respecting members admitted upon their re- 
ception of the third degree, equally applies to those 
who have been admitted by application. 

There is, however, a difference in these methods 
of admission. It has been seen that those who 
acquire membership in a Lodge, by virtue of having 
received therein the third degree, obtain that mem- 
bership as a matter of right, without petition and 
without ballot. But a Master Mason, who is desir- 
ous of affiliating with a Lodge in which he was not 
initiated, or in which, after initiation, he had at the 



RIGHT OF AFFILIATION. 197 

legal lime declined or neglected to assert his right 
of membership, must apply by petition. This peti- 
tion must be read at a regular communication of the 
Lodge, and be referred to a committee of investi- 
gation, which committee, at the next regular com- 
munication, (a month having intervened) will report 
on the character and qualifications of the candidate ; 
and if the report be favorable, the Lodge will pro- 
ceed to ballot. As in the case of initiation, the 
ballot is required to be unanimously in favor of the 
applicant to secure his election. One black ball is 
sufficient to reject him. 

All of these Regulations, which are of ancient 
date and of general usage, are founded on the fifth 
and sixth of the Regulations of 1721, and are, it 
will be seen, the same as those which govern the 
petition and ballot for initiation. The Regulations 
of 1721 make no difference in the cases of profanes 
who seek to be made Masons, and Masons who de- 
sire affiliation or membership in a Lodge.* In 
both cases " previous notice, one month before," 
must be given to the Lodge, " due inquiry into the 
reputation and capacity of the candidate" must be 
made, and " the unanimous consent of all the mem- 
bers then present" must be obtained. Nor can this 
unanimity be dispensed with in one case any more 

* The fifth Regulation of 1721 says : " No man can be made or admit- 
ted a member of a particular Lodge/' &c, clearly showing that the Mason 
who is made in a Lodge, and the one who applies for affiliation, are both 
placed in the same category. The phraseology of the sixth Regulation is to 
the same effect : " No man can be entered a Brother in any particular Lodge 
or admitted to be a member thereof/' &c. 



198 EIUHT OP AFFILIATION. 

than it can in the other. It is the inherent privi- 
lege of every Lodge to judge of the qualifications 
o: its own members, " nor is this inherent privilege 
subject to a dispensation." 

I have said nothing here of the necessity that the 
petition should be recommended by one or more 
members of the Lodge. Such is a very general 
usage, but not a universal one ; and I can find no 
authority for it in any of the ancient Constitutions, 
nor is anything said upon the subject by Preston, or 
any other written authorities that I have consulted. 
On the contrary, it appears to me that such a re- 
commendation is not essentially necessary. The 
demit from the Lodge of which the candidate was 
last a member, is itseif in the nature of a recom- 
mendation ; and if this accompanies the petition 
for admission, no other avouchment should be re- 
quired. The information in respect to present 
character and other qualifications is to be obtained 
by the committee of investigation, who of course 
are expected to communicate the result of what 
they have learned on the subject to the Lodge. 

Some of our modern Grand Lodges, however, 
governed perhaps by the general analogy of appli- 
cations for initiation, have required, by a specific 
Regulation, that a petition for membership must be 
recommended by one or more members of the Lodge ; 
and such a Regulation would of course be Masonic 
Law for the jurisdiction in which it was in force ; 
but I confess that I prefer the ancient usage, which 
seem3 to have made the presentation of a demit from 



RIGHT OF AFFILIATION. 199 

some other Lodge the only necessary recommendation 
of a Master Mason applying for affiliation."* 

There is one difference between the condition of 
a profane petitioning for admission, and that of a 
Master Mason applying for membership, which 
claims our notice. 

A profane, as has already been stated,t can apply 
for initiation only to the Lodge nearest to his place 
of residence ; but no such Kegulation exists in refer- 
ence to a Master Mason applying for membership. 
He is not confined in the exercise of this privilege 
within any geographical limits. No matter how 
distant the Lodge of his choice may be from his 
residence, to that Lodge he has as much right to ap- 
ply as to the Lodge which is situated at the very 
threshold of his home. A Mason is expected to 
affiliate with some Lodge. The ancient Constitu- 
tions specify nothing further on the subject. They 
simply prescribe that every Mason should belong to 
a Lodge, without any reference to its peculiar lo- 
cality, ana a Brother therefore complies with the 
obligation of affiliation when he unites himself with 
any Lodge, no matter how distant ; and by thus 
contributing to the support of the institution, he 

* These demits or certificates appear formerly to have been considered as 
necessary letters of introduction or recommendation, to be used by all 
Masons when an-iving at a new Lodge. Thus the Regulations of 1663, § 3, 
prescribe " that no person hereafter who shall be accepted a Freemason, 
shall be admitted into any Lodge or assembly until he has brought a certiu 
cate of the time and place of his acceptation from the Lodge that accepted 
him, unto the Master of that limit or division where such Lodge is kept/' 

(• See ante, p. U9. 



200 EIGHT OF AFFILIATION. 

discharges his duty as a Mason, and "becomes entitled 
to all the privileges of the Order.* 

This usage — for, in the absence of a positive law 
on the subject, it has become a Regulation, from the 
force of custom only — is undoubtedly derived from 
the doctrine of the universality of Masonry. The 
whole body of the craft, wheresoever dispersed, 
being considered, by the fraternal character of the 
institution, as simply component parts of one. great 
family, no peculiar rights of what might be called 
Masonic citizenship are supposed to be acquired by 
a domiciliation in one particular place. The Mason 
who is at home and the Mason who comes from 
abroad are considered on an equal footing as to all 
Masonic rights ; and hence the Brother made in 
Europe is as much a Mason when he comes to 
America, and is as fully qualified to discharge in 
America all Masonic functions, without any form 
"of naturalization, as though he had been made in 
this country. The converse is equally true. Hence 
no distinctions are made, and no peculiar rights 
acquired by membership in a local Lodge. Affilia- 
tion with the Order, of which -every Lodge is 
equally a part, confers the privileges of active 
Masonry. Therefore no law has ever prescribed 
that a Mason must belong to the Lodge nearest to 
his residence, but generally that he mus-t belong to 

* The Charges of 1722 simply say, after describing what a Lodge is, thai 
" every Brother ought to belong to one." And it must be remembered that> 
previous to that period, there could have been no Eegulation on this subject 
as there were no permanent organizations of Lodges. 



EIGHT OF AFFILIATION. . 201 

a Lodge ; and consequently the doctrine is, as it ha? 
been enunciated above, that a Master Mason may 
apply for affiliation, and unite himself with any 
Lodge which is legal and regular, no matter how 
near to, or how far from his place of residence. 

Some Grand Lodges have adopted a Regulation 
requiring a Mason, living in their respective juris- 
dictions, to unite himself in membership with some 
Lodge in the said jurisdiction, and refusing to 
accord the rights of affiliation to one who belongs 
to a Lodge outside of the jurisdiction. But I have 
no doubt that this is a violation of the spirit of the 
ancient law. A Mason living in California may 
retain his membership in a Lodge in the State of 
New York, and by so doing, is as much an affiliated 
Mason, in every sense of the word, as though he 
had acquired membership in a California Lodge. 
I do not advocate the practice of holding member- 
ship in distant Lodges ; for I believe that it is 
highly inexpedient, and that a Mason will much 
more efficiently discharge his duties to the Order 
by acquiring membership in the Lodge which is 
nearest to his residence, than in one which is at a 
great distance ; but I simply contend for the prin- 
ciple, as one of Masonic jurisprudence, that a Master 
Mason has a right to apply for membership in any 
Lodge on the face of the globe, and that member- 
ship in a Lodge carries with it the rights of affilia- 
tion wherever the member may go.* 

* As it is here contended that a Mason may live in one place and be a 
member of a Lodge in another, the question naturally arises, whether the 

9* 



202 EIGHT OP AFFILIATION, 

The effect of the rejection of the application of 
a Master Mason for affiliation is different from that 
of a profane for initiation. It has already been 
said that when a profane petitions for initiation 
and his petition is rejected, he can renew his peti- 
tion only in the same Lodge. The door of every 
other Lodge is closed against him. But it is not 
so with the Master Mason, the rejection of whose 
application for affiliation or membership by one 
Lodge does not deprive him of the right to apply to 
another. The reason of this rule will be evident 
upon a little reflection. A Master Mason is in what 
is technically called " good standing ;" that is to 
say, he is a Mason in possession of all Masonic rights 
and privileges, so long as he is not deprived of that 
character by the legal action of some regularly con- 
stituted Masonic tribunal. Now, that action must 
be either by suspension or expulsion, after trial and 
conviction. A Mason who is neither suspended nor 
expelled is a Mason in " good standing." Rejection, 
therefore, is- not one of the methods by which the 
good standing of a Mason is affected, because re- 
jection is neither preceded by charges nor accom- 
panied by trial ; and consequently a Mason whoso 
application for affiliation has been rejected by a 
Lodge, remains in precisely the same position, so far 
as his Masonic standing is affected, as he was before 

Lodge, within whose precincts he resides, but of which he is not a member,, 
can exercise its discipline over him, should he commit any offence requiring 
Masonic punishment. There is no doubt that it can ; but this question will 
be fully discussed when we ;ome, in a subsequent part of this work, to the 
subject of Lodge jurisdiction. 



EIGHT OF VISIT. 203 

his rejection. He possesses all the rights and privi- 
leges that lie did previously, unimpaired and undi- 
minished. But one of these rights is the right of 
applying for membership to any Lodge that he may 
desire to be affiliated with ; and therefore, as this 
right remains intact, notwithstanding his rejection, 
he may at any time renew his petition to the Lodge 
that rejected him, or make a new one to some other 
Lodge, and that petition may be repeated as often 
as he deems it proper to do so. 

The right of a member to appeal to the Grand 
Lodge from the decision of the Master, on points of 
order, or from that of the Lodge in cases of trial, 
is a very important right; but one that will be more 
appropriately discussed when we come hereafter to 
the consideration of the appellate jurisdiction of 
Grand Lodges. 

SECTION III. 

THE RIGHT OF VISIT. 

The Right of Visit, may be denned to be that pre- 
rogative which every affiliated Master Mason in 
good standing possesses of visiting any Lodge into 
which he may desire to enter. It is one of the most 
important of all Masonic privileges, because it is 
based on the principle of the identity of the Masonic 
institution as one universal family, and is the ex- 
ponent of that well known maxim that " in every 
clime a Mason may find a home, and in every land 
a Brother." 



204 RIGHT OF YISIT. 

Fortunately for its importance, this right is not 
left to be deduced from analogy, or to be supported 
only by questionable usage, but is proclaimed in dis« 
tinct terms in some of the earliest Constitutions. 
The Ancient Charges at Makings, that were in 
force in 1888, but whose real date is supposed to be 
much anterior to that time, instruct us that it is the 
duty of every Mason to receive strange Brethren 
" when they come over the country," which Regula- 
tion, however the latter part of it may have refer- 
red, in an operative sense, to the encouragement of 
traveling workmen in want and search of employ- 
ment, must now, in the speculative character which 
our institution has assumed, be interpreted as signi- 
fying that it is the duty of every Lodge to receive 
strange Brethren as visitors, and permit them to 
participate in the labors and instructions in which 
the Lodge may, at the time of the visit, be engaged. 

Modern authorities have very generally concurred 
in this view of the subject. In June, 1819, in con- 
sequence of a complaint which had been preferred to 
the Grand Lodge of England against a Lodge in 
London, for having refused admission to some 
Brethren who were well known to them, on the 
ground that, as the Lodge was about to initiate a 
candidate, no visitor could be admitted until that 
ceremony was concluded, the Board of General Pur- 
poses resolved " that it is the undoubted right of 
every Mason who is well known or properly vouched, 
to visit any Lodge during the time it is opened for 
general Masonic business, observing the proper 



RIGHT OF VISIT. 205 

forms to be attended to on such occasions, and so 
that the Master may not be interrupted in the per- 
formance of his duty.''* 

The Grand Lodge of New York concurs in this 
view, by declaring " that the right to visit, masonic- 
ally, is an absolute right,"t and it qualifies the pro- 
position by adding that this right " may be forfeited 
or limited by particular regulations." This subject 
of the forfeiture or restriction of the right will be 
hereafter considered. 

In the jurisdiction of Ohio, it is held that every 
Mason in good standing " has a right to visit Lodges 
when at labor, and that a Lodge cannot refuse such 
a visitor, without doing him a wrong. J 

In Mississippi, South Carolina, Michigan, and a 
very large majority of American Grand Lodges, the 
doctrine of the absolute right of visit is inculcated, 
while the contrary opinion is maintained in Mary- 
land, California, and perhaps a few other States. 

The doctrine announced in Maryland -is, that 
" each Lodge is a family by itself, separate and dis- 
tinct from all the rest of the world, and has an un- 
questionable right to say who shall not be their 
associates. "§ 

* See Oliver's ed. of Preston, note to p. 75. 

t Const. G. L. of New York, 1858, § viii., s. 8. 

$ Com. of Corresp. G. L. of Ohio, 1856, p. 482. 

§ Rep. of Cora, of For. Corresp., 1854, p. 10. It is evident, however, that 
this involves a very contracted view of the universality of Masonry, and that 
by making each Lodge a distinct and independent family, the cosmopolitan 
character of the institution is completely denied. Fortunately this theory i* 
nowhere else recognized. 



206 RIGHT OF VISIT. 

The doctrine in California appears to be, that 
" the right (so called) to visit masonically is not an 
absolute right, but is a favor, to which every lawftu 
Mason in good standing is entitled, and which a 
Lodge may concede or refuse at its discretion." 

There is in the phraseology of this Regulation 
such a contradiction of terms as to give an objection- 
able ambiguity to the statute. If the right of visit 
" is not an absolute right," then every Mason in 
good standing is not entitled to it. And if it is a 
favor to which " every lawful Mason in good stand- 
ing is entitled," then no Lodge can " concede or re- 
fuse it at its discretion." There seems almost to be 
an absurdity in declaring by statute that every 
Mason has a right to ask for that which may, with- 
out cause assigned, be refused. The right mentioned 
in the old adage that " a cat may look at a king," 
has more substantiality about it than this mere right 
of asking, without any certainty of obtaining. 

The true doctrine is, that the right of visit is one 
of the positive rights of every Mason ; because 
Lodges are justly considered as only divisions for 
convenience of the universal Masonic family. The 
right may, of course, be lost or forfeited on special 
occasions, by various circumstances ; but any Mas- 
ter who shall refuse admission to a Mason, in good 
standing, who knocks at the door of his Lodge, is 
expected to furnish some good and satisfactory 
reason for his thus violating a Masonic right. If 
the admission of the applicant, whether a member 
or visitor, would, in his opinion, be attended with 



EIGHT OF VISIT. 207 

injurious consequences, such, for instance, as impair- 
ing the harmony of the Lodge, a Master would then, 
I presume, be justified in refusing admission. But 
without the existence of some, such good reason, 
Masonic jurists have always decided that the right 
of visitation is absolute and positive, and inures. to 
every Mason in his travels throughout the world. 
Wherever he may be, however distant from his resi- 
dence and in the land of the stranger, every Lodge 
is, to a Mason in good standing, his home, where he 
should be ever sure of the warmest and truest 
welcome. 

We are next to inquire into the nature of the re- 
strictions which have been thrown around the exer- 
cise of this right of visit. 

In the first place, to entitle him to this right of 
visit, a'Master Mason must be affiliated with some 
Lodge. Of this doctrine there is no question. All 
Masonic authorities concur in confirming it. But 
as a Mason may take his demit from a particular 
Lodge, with the design of uniting again with some 
other, it is proper that he should be allowed the op-^ 
portunity of visiting various Lodges, for the pur- 
pose — where there are more than one in the same 
place — of making his selection. But that no en- 
couragement may be given to him to protract the 
period of his withdrawal of Lodge membership, this 
privilege of visiting must be restricted within the 
narrowest limits. Accordingly, the Grand Lodge 
of England has laid down the doctrine in its Con- 
stitutions in the following words : 



208 RIGHT OF VISIT. 

" A Brother, who is not a subscribing member to some 
Lodge, shall not be permitted to visit any one Lodge in the 
town or place in which he resides, more than once during his 
secession from the craft."* 

A similar usage appears very generally, indeed 
universally, to prevail ; so that it may be laid down 
as a law, fixed, by custom and confirmed in most 
jurisdictions by statutory enactment, that an un- 
affiliated Mason cannot visit any Lodge more than 
once.f By ceasing to be affiliated, he loses his 
general right of visit. 

Again : a visiting Brother, although an affiliated 
Mason, may, by bad conduct, forfeit his right of 
visit. The power to reject the application of a 
visitor for admission, is not a discretionary, but a 
constitutional one, vested in the Master of the 
Lodge, and for the wholesome exercise of which he 
is responsible to the Grand Lodge. If, in his opin- 
ion, the applicant for admission as a visitor, is not 
in a condition, or of fitting moral character, to en- 
title him to the hospitalities of the Lodge, he may 
refuse him admission ;% but the visitor so rejected 
will have his right of appeal to the Grand Lodge, 
in whose jurisdiction he has been refused, and the 

* Constitutions of the G. L. of Eng., p. 91. 

f The Grand Lodge of New York extends the number of visits of un- 
affiliated Masons to two. But the rule laid down in the text is the more 
general one. 

i Thus the Grand Lodge cf New York has very wisely enacted that no 
visitor shall be admitted, unless it be known " that his admission will not 
disturb the harmony of the Lodge, or embarrass its work."— Const. Gr. L. cf 
m Y., § 23. 



RIGHT OF VISIT. 209 

onus then lies on the Master of proving that such 
refusal was founded on and supported b) T sufficient 
reasons. 

The great object in all Masonry being the pre- 
servation of harmony among the Brethren, which 
our ritual properly declares to be " the support of 
all well regulated institutions/ 7 it has been deemed, 
by many excellent Masonic authorities, to be the 
prerogative of any member of a Lodge to object' to 
the admission of a visitor when his relations to that 
visitor are of such a nature as to render it un- 
pleasant for the member to sit in Lodge with- the 
visitor. It is certainly much to be regretted that 
any such unkind feelings should exist among Masons. 
But human nature is infirm, and Masonry does not 
always accomplish its mission of creating and per- 
petuating brotherly love, Hence, when two Masons 
are in such an unmasonic condition of antagonism, 
the only question to be solved is — the one being a 
contributing member and the other a visitor — 
whether shall the former or the latter retire? Jus- 
tice seems to require that the visitor shall yield his 
claims to those of the member. If the presence of 
both would disturb the harmony of the Lodge — and I 
know not how that harmony can be more effectually 
disturbed than by the presence of two Masons who 
are inimical to each other — then I cannot deny not 
only the right, but the duty of the Master, to forbid 
the entrance of the one who, as a stranger and a 
visitor, has the slightest claims to admission, and 
whose rights will be the least affected by the re- 



210 RIGHT OF VISIT. 

fusal. If a visitor is refused admission, it is only 
his right of visit that is affected ; but if a member 
be compelled to withdraw, in consequence of the 
admission of a visitor, whose presence is unpleasant 
to him, then all his rights of membership are in- 
volved, which of course include his right of voting 
at that communication on any petitions for initia- 
tion or membership, and on motions before the 
Lodge, as well as his right of advocating or oppos- 
ing any particular measures which may become the 
subject of deliberation during the meeting. Hence, 
under the ordinary legal maxim, argumentum ab in- 
convenienti plurimum valet in lege, that is, " an argu- 
ment drawn from inconvenience is of great force in 
law," it seems clear that the earnest protest of a 
member is sufficient to exclude a visitor. And to 
this we may add, that if by the old Regulation of 
1721, every member present was to be allowed the 
expression of his opinion in reference to the admit- 
tance of a permanent member, because if one be 
admitted without unanimous consent, " it might 
spoil the harmony" of the Lodge, then by analogy 
we are to infer that, for a similar reason, the 
same unanimity is expected in the admission of a 
visitor."* 



* The Hon. W. B. Hubbard, Grand Master of the Knights Templar of the 
United States, whose claims as au eminent Masonic jurist are everywhere 
acknowledged, lays down the following axioms in his admirable " Digest of 
Masonic Laws and Decisions," p. 51. They refer, it is true, to Commander. 
ies of Knights Templar, but are equally applicable to Lodges of Master 
Masons, and I cordially adopt them as my own opinions en this subject of 
the restrictions of the right of visit : 



RIGHT OF VISIT. 211 

But another restriction on the right of visit is to 
be found in the necessity of an examination. No 
Brother can be permitted to visit any strange Lodge, 
unless he has first submitted to an examination. 
This examination, it is true, may be rendered un- 
necessary by an avouchment : but, as the principle 
is the same, and as the subject of the right of 
avouchment will be discussed in a subsequent sec- 
tion, it is unnecessary, on the present occasion, to 
consider anything more than the effect of an ex- 
amination on the right of visit. 

The rule, then, is imperative that every Master 
Mason who applies as a visitor to a Lodge, and for 
whose Masonic standing and character as a Mason 
no Brother present can vouch, must submit to an 
examination before he can be admitted. This exa- 
mination is accompanied by several forms, which, as 
they are used in the presence of a person not known 
to be a Mason, and who, after having participated 
in them, is often rejected, because lie cannot give 
sufficient proof of his Masonic character, necessarily 
form no part of the secret portions of our ritual, and 
can therefore be as safely committed to paper and 
openly published, as any of the other ordinary 

" When a member of a Commandery, who is not under suspension, applies 
for admission, the E. Commander ought not to refuse to receive him, because 
another and sitting member objects. 

" But no visiting Knight should be admitted, if one only of the regular 
members present objects. 

" If one member cannot sit with another member, their differences should 
be reconciled, if possible. If irreconcilable, then charges should be prefer 
red by the objecting member, and a trial be had." 



212 RIGHT OF VISIT. 

business of a Lodge. To assert to the contrary — 
to say, for instance, that the " Tiler's obligation," so 
called because it is administered to the visitor in 
the Tiler's room, and usually in the presence of that 
officer, is a Masonic secret — is to assert, that that 
which is secret, and a portion of our mysteries, may 
be openly presented to a person whom we do not 
know to be a Mason, and who therefore receives 
this instruction before he has proved his right to it 
by " strict trial and due examination." The very 
fact that the " Tiler's obligation" is to be adminis- 
tered to such an unknown person, is the very best 
argument that can be adduced that it no more con- 
stitutes a part of our secret instructions, than do 
the public ceremonies of laying corner stones, or 
burying our dead. I do not consequently hesitate 
to present it to the reader in the form which I have 
seen usually adopted.* 

The visitor, therefore, who desires admission into 
a Lodge, and who presents himself for preparatory 
examination, is required to take the following oath 
in the presence of the examining committee, each 

* These remarks are induced in consequence of objections having been made 
by a few overscrupulous brethren to the insertion of this Tiler's oath, in a 
previous publication. They deemed it a part of the apporreta, or hidden 
things of Masonry. But for the reasons urged above, I cannot . consent to 
view it in this light. Masonic scholars are beginning now to abandon that 
timid course whrch leads to the suppression of important information, under 
the mistaken, but honesi belief, that the secrets of Freemasonry may thereby 
be unlawfully divulged. It is true that there are some things that cannot be 
written ; but, as a general rule, it may be stated, that more injury has been 
done to the institution by needless reserve than by liberal publication of its 
concerns. 



EIGHT OF VISIT. 213 

of whom he may likewise require to take the same 
oatli with him : 

" I, A. B., do Jiereby and hereon solemnly and sincerely swear, 
that I have been regularly initiated, passed and raised, to the 
sublime degree of a Master Mason, in a just and legally consti- 
tuted Lodge of such; that I do not now stand suspended or expel- 
led; and know of no reason why I should not hold Masonic 
communication with my brethren." 

This declaration having been confirmed in the 
most solemn manner, the examination is then com- 
menced with the necessary forms. The ritualistic 
landmark requires that these forms must be con- 
ducted in such a manner as to constitute what is 
technically called a " strict trial." No question 
must be omitted that should have been asked, and 
no answer received unless strictly and categorically 
correct. The rigor and severity of the rules and 
forms of a Masonic examination must never be 
weakened by undue partiality or unjustifiable deli- 
cacy. The honor and safety of the institution are 
to be paramount to every other consideration ; and 
the Masonic maxim is never to be forgotten, that 
" it is better that ninety and nine true men should, 
by over strictness, be turned away from the door of 
a Lodge, than that one cowan should, through 
the carelessness of an examining committee, be 
admitted." 

Correlative to this right of examination is that 
which belongs to every visitor of demanding a sight 
of the warrant of constitution of the Lodge which 
he proposes to visit. The demand to see this im 



214 EIGHT OF VISIT. 

portant instrument he may make before examina- 
tion, because it is in fact the evidence of the right 
of the committee to proceed to that examination, 
and the committee is bound to produce it. 

Intimately connected with this subject of the 
right of visit is that of Grand Lodge certificates. 
The propriety of any Regulation requiring such a 
document as a necessary preliminary to a visit, has, 
within the last few years, been warmly agitated by 
several of the Grand Lodges of this country ; and 
some of them, denying its antiquity, have abolished 
the Regulation in their own jurisdictions. It is, 
however, surprising that any writer professing to be 
acquainted with the history of the institution, should 
for a moment deny the great antiquity and univer- 
sality of the law which has required every strange 
Brother to furnish the Lodge which he intends to 
visit with a certificate of his good standing in the 
Lodge and the jurisdiction from which he hails. 

The Regulation was certainly in force two cen- 
turies ago ; for we have the evidence of that fact in 
the Regulation adopted in the General Assembly in 
1663, under the Grand Mastership of the Earl of 
St. Albans, in the following explicit language : 

" No person hereafter, who shall be accepted a Freemason, 
shall be admitted into any Lodge or assembly, until he has 
brought a certificate of the time and place of his acceptation 
from the Lodge that accepted him, unto the Master of that 
limit or division where such a Lodge is kept." 

From that time, at least, the Regulation has been 
strictly observed in the Grand Lodges of England, 



RIGHT OF VISIT. 215 

Ireland, and Scotland, and many of the older Grand 
Lodges of this country.* Several other Grand 
Lodges, however, whose Constitutions are of a later 
date, have, as I have already observed, abolished it, 
and decline to furnish their members with such cer- 
tificates. There may be a doubt whether a Masonic 
certificate, not renewable, but given to its possessor 
for his life, is of any real value in establishing his 
Masonic standing, except at the time that lie re- 
ceived it ; but there can be no doubt that the Regu- 
lation requiring one to be given, is one of the most 
ancient written laws of the Order. Under any cir- 
cumstances, it must, however, be recollected that a 
Grand Lodge certificate is to be considered only as 
a collateral evidence of the good standing of its 
possessor, preparatory to an examination in the 
legal way ; and hence the Regulation adopted by 
the Grand Lodge of South Carolina in 1848, seems 
to be .a reasonable one, namely, that where the visi- 
tor, being without a certificate, can furnish other 
sufficient evidence of his Masonic standing, and 
assign a satisfactory reason for his being without a 
certificate, the Lodge which he proposes to visit may 
proceed to his examination. 

In concluding this section, it may be remarked, 

* So important was this subject deemed by the Masonic Congress which 
was beld at Paris in June, 1855, that among the ten propositions recom- 
mended, was one fur a standard form of Masonic diploma. It was advised 
that this instrument should be in Latin, with an accompanying translation in 
the national language, and to have a testamentary formula, setting forth the 
desire of the recipient that after his death it may be returned to the Lodge 
whence it emanated. 



216 RIGHT OF AVOUCHMENT. 

by way of recapitulation, that the right of visit ia 
a positive right, which inures to every unaffiliated 
Master Mason once, and to every affiliated Master 
Mason always ; but that it is a right which can 
never be exercised without a previous examination 
or legal avouchment, and may be forfeited for good 
and sufficient cause ; while for the Master of auy 
Lodge to deny it, without such cause, is to do a 
Masonic wrong to the Brother claiming? it, for which 

O CD i 

iie will have his redress upon complaint to the 
Grand Lodge, within whose jurisdiction the injury 
is inflicted. This, it appears to me, is now the 
settled law upon this subject of the Masonic right 
of visit. 



SECTION IY. 

THE RIGHT OF AVOUCHMENT. 

I have said in the preceding section that an exa- 
mination may sometime^ be dispensed with, when a 
Brother who is present, and acquainted with the 
visitor, is able and willing to vouch for him as a 
Master Mason in good standing. This prerogative, 
of vouching for a stranger, is strictly one of the 
rights of a Master Mason, because neither Entered 
Apprentices nor Fellow Crafts are permitted to 
exercise it, in reference to those who have attained 
to their respective degrees. But the right is one 
of so important a nature — its imprudent exercise 
would be attended with such evil consequences to 
the institution — that Grand Lodges have found it 



RIGHT OF AVOUCHMENT. 217 

necessary to restrict it by the most rigid rules. 
The Grand Lodges of Iowa* and Mississippi,! for 
instance, have declared that no visitor can be per- 
mitted to take his seat in a Lodge, on the strength 
of being vouched for by a Brother, unless that 
Brother has sat in a Lodge with him. 

Under ordinary circumstances, it would undoubt- 
edly be the safest plan to adopt such a regulation 
as this, and to require that the avouchment should 
be founded on the fact of the voucher's having sat 
in a Lodge with the visitor. But it cannot be de- 
nied that there are occasions in which an intelligent 
and experienced Mason will be as competent, from 
his own private examination, to decide the Masonic 
qualifications of a candidate for admission, as if he 
had sat with him in the communication of a Lodge. 
This subject of vouching does not, indeed, appear 
to have been always understood. Many Masons 
suppose that the prerogative of vouching is inherent 
in every Brother, and that if A shall say that he 
vouches for B, and that he has sat in a Lodge with 
him, the assertion should be received with all re- 
spect, and B admitted. But in how many cases 

* " Whereas, the editors of some Masonic journals have decided that a 
Mason may vouch for a Brother when visiting a Lodge, without having sat in 
open Lodge with him, resolved, that this Grand Lodge would enjoin upon the 
brethren of this jurisdiction not to tolerate such a practice." — Resolution of 
G. L. of Iowa, 1853. Proceed, p. 470. 

f " In the opinion of this Grand Lodge, no visitor can be permitted to 
take his seat in a Lodge, on the strength of being vouched for by a Brother, 
unless that Brother has sat in a Lodge with him. otherwise he must be regu- 
larly examined by a committee of the Lodge." — Resolution of G.L.of Mis- 
sissippi, 1856. Proceed, p. 94. 

10 



218 EIGHT OF AVOUCHMENT. 

may not A. from ignorance or inexperience, be liable 
to be deceived ? How are we to know that. A him- 
self was upt in a clandestine Lodge, which had been 
imposed npon his ignorance, when he sat with B ? 
How are we to be sure that his memory has not been 
treacherous, and that the Lodge in which he saw B 
was not a Fellow Crafts 7 or Entered Apprentices 7 , 
instead of being a Masters 7 ? Why, only by know- 
ing that the Masonic skill and experience, and the 
general good sense and judgment of A are such as 
not to render him liable to the commission of such 
errors. And i£ we are confident of his Masonic 
knowledge and honesty, we are ready, or ought to 
be, to take his vouching, without further inquiry as 
to its foundation ; but if we are not, then it is safer 
to depend on an examination by a committee than 
on the avouchment of one in whose ability we have 
no confidence. A Masonic avouchment is, in fact, 
in the nature of a mercantile or legal security. Its 
whole value depends on the character and attain- 
ments of the one who offers it ; and it would be 
better, I imagine, if a positive rule is to be laid 
down, to say that no visitor shall be admitted into 
a Lodge except with the avouchment of a well 
known and skillful Mason, or upon examination by 
a committee. 

Still, it must be confessed, however humiliating 
the confession may be, that a very large number of 
Masons are too little skilled in the mysteries which 
have been communicated to them, to be enabled to 
pass a stranger through that ordeal of strict exa* 



EIGHT^DF AVOUCHMENT. 219 

mination, which alone can prove a friend, or detect 
a foe, and an ingenious impostor would often find it 
a task of but little difficulty to deceive such an un- 
skillful examiner. Thus imposed upon himself, the 
deceived brother unwittingly might extend his 
error, by vouching for one who has no claims upon 
the fraternity. The vouching of such brethren, de- 
rived from their private examination, should of 
course be considered as of no value. But, on the 
other hand, there are many Masons so well skilled 
in the principles of the craft, that no danger of im- 
position need be feared when we depend on the 
information which they have derived from an exami- 
nation, conducted as they would of course do it, 
with all the necessary forms, and guarded by all 
the usual precautions. The avouchments of such 
brethren should be considered as perfectly satis- 
factory. 

I am inclined, therefore, to believe that the spirit 
of the law simply requires that a Master shall per- 
mit no visitor to be admitted without previous ex- 
amination, unless he can be vouched for by a Brother 
who has sat with him ' in open Lodge, or, if the 
avouchment be made in consequence of a private 
examination, unless the Brother so vouching be 
kuown to the presiding officer as a skillful and ex- 
perienced Mason. 

But, if we admit this to be the true interpretation 
of the law of avouchment, then it becomes necessary 
that we should inquire more closely into what are 
to be the governing principles of that private ex 



220 EIGHT OF AVOUCHELENT. 

animation from which the authority of the avouch- 
ment is to be derived, and into the nature of the 
competency of the Brother who ventures to give it. 

In the first place, the avouchnient thus given is, it 
is understood, to be founded on some previous 
private examination. Therefore it follows, that the 
Brother who undertakes to vouch for a visitor on 
these grounds, must have been thoroughly compe- 
tent to conduct such an examination. There must 
be no danger of his having been imposed upon by 
an ignorant pretender. And consequently the Mas- 
ter of a Lodge would be culpable in receiving the 
avouchnient of a young and inexperienced, or of an 
old and ignorant Mason. 

But again : there may be sometimes an avouch- 
ment at second hand. Thus A may be enabled to 
vouch for C, on the information derived from B. 
But in this case it is essential to its validity that 
the avouchnient should have been made when the 
whole three were present. Thus it is not admissible 
that B should inform A that a certain person named 
C, who is then absent, is a Master Mason. A can- 
not, upon this information, subsequently vouch for 
C. There may be some mistake or misunderstand- 
ing in the identity of the person spoken of. A may 
have been referring to one individual and B to 
another. And the person afterwards vouched for 
by A, may prove to be entirely different from the 
one intended by B. But if B, in the presence of C, 
shall say to A, " I know this person C to be a Mas- 
ter Mason," or words to that effect, then it is com- 



RIGHT OP A.VOUCHMENT. 221 

potent for A to repeat this avouchment as his own, 
because he will thus have derived " lawful infor- 
mation" of the fact. 

But here again the same principle of competency 
must be observed, and B must not only be known to - 
A to be a skillful and experienced Mason, incapable 
of being imposed upon, but A must himself be a fit- 
ting judge of that skill and experience. 

This second-hand avouchment is, however, always 
dangerous, and should be practised with great cau- 
tion, and only by eminently skillful Masons. It is 
to be viewed rather as an exception to the general 
rule, and as such is generally to be avoided, although 
between Masons of great learning and experience, 
it may sometimes be a perfectly safe dependence. 

The regulations by which avouchments are to be 
governed appear, therefore, to be three : 

1. A Mason may vouch for another, if he has sat 
in a Lodge with him. 

2. He may vouch for him if he has subjected him 
to a skillful private examination. 

3. He may also vouch for him if he has received 
positive information of his Masonic character from 
a competent and reliable Brother. 

Of these three, the first is the safest, and the last 
the most dangerous. And in all of them it is essen- 
tial that the voucher should be a skillful Mason, for 
it is better to subject the visitor to a formal exami- 
nation, than to take the avouchment of an ignorant 
' Brother, though he may declare that he has sat in 
the Lodge with the psrson desirous of being admit 



222 RIGHT OF RELIEF. 

ted. In fact, the third kind of avouchment by an 
eminently skillful Mason, is safer than the first kind 
by an ignorant one. 

Lastly, no written avouchment, however distin- 
guished may be the Mason who sends it, or however 
apparently respectable may be the person who 
brings it, is of any value in Masonry. Letters of 
introduction, in which light only such an avouch- 
ment can be considered, are liable to be forged or 
stolen ; and it is not permitted to trust the valuable 
secrets of Masonry to contingencies of so probable 
a nature. Hence, whatever confidence we may be 
disposed to place in the statements of an epistle 
from a friend, so far as they respect the social posi- 
tion of the bearer, we are never to go further ; but 
any declarations of Masonic character or standing 
are to be considered as valueless, unless confirmed 
by an examination. 

SECTION V. 

THE RIGHT OF RELIEF. 

The ritual of the first degree informs us that the 
three principal tenets of a Mason's profession are 
Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth. Relief, the 
second of these tenets, seems necessarily to flow 
from the first, or brotherly love ; for the love of our 
brother will naturally lead us to the sentiment of 
wishing " to alleviate his misfortunes, to compas- 
sionate his misery, and to restore peace 10 his 
troubled mind." 



RIGHT OF RELIEF. 223 

As tlie duty of assisting indigent and distressed 
brethren is one of the most important duties incul- 
cated by the landmarks and laws of the institution, 
so the privilege of claiming this assistance is one of 
the most important rights of a Master Mason. It 
is what we technically call, in Masonic law, the 
Right of Relief, and will constitute the subject mat- 
ter of the present section. 

The right to claim relief is distinctly recognized 
in the Old Charges which were approved in 1722, 
which, under the head of " Behavior to a strange 
Brother," contain the following language : 

" But if you discover him to be a true and genuine Brother, 
you are to respect him accordingly ; and if he is . in want, 
you must relieve him if you can, or else direct him how he 
may be relieved. You must employ him some days, or else 
recommend him to be employed. But you are not charged 
to do beyond your ability, only to prefer a poor Brother, who 
is a good, man and true, before any other people in the same 
cir cums tances."* 

The law thus explicitly laid down, has always 
been the one on which Masonic relief is claimed and 
granted ; and, on inspection, it will be found that it 
includes the following four principles : 

1. The applicant must be in distress. 

2. He must be worthy. 

3. The giver is not expected to exceed his ability 
in the amount of relief that he grants. 

* See ante, p. 62. In a similar spirit, the " xincient Charges at Makings," 
which were used in the seventeenth century, prescribe that " every Mason 
wust receive and cherish a strange Brother, giving him employment, if ha 
has any, and if not, he is directed to " refresh him with money unto the next 
Lodge.' —See ante, p. 52. 



224 EIGHT OF RELIEF. 

4. A Mason is to be preferred to any other appli- 
cant in the same circumstances. 

Each of these principles of Masonic relief requires 
a distinct consideration. 

1. The applicant must he in distress. Freemasonry 
is, strictly speaking, a charitable association : that 
is to say, it does not, in any way, partake of the 
nature of a joint stock, or mutual insurance com- 
pany, which distinguishes so many of the friendly 
societies of the present day in England and this 
country. In the Masonic organization, charity is 
given — as charity should only be given — to the 
needy, and according to the means of the givers. 
That principle of mutual insurance by which a so- 
ciety or association pledges itself, in articles of its 
constitution, in consideration of the regular pay- 
ment of a certain annual amount, to contribute, in 
return, a fixed sum, usually called " a benefit/ 7 to 
the member who has so paid his dues, whenever he 
is sick, whether he needs it or not, making no dis- 
tinction between rich and poor, but only between 
punctual payers and defaulters, is a mere matter 
of commercial bargain and pecuniary calculation. 
There is not one particle of charity in it. It is the 
legal and expected result of a previous contract, to 
be enforced by law if necessary, and as such, can 
enlist none of the finer emotions of the heart.* 



* It is to be regretted that on a few occasions, Masonic Lodges, capti- 
vated, without sufficient reflection, by the apparent convenience of the sys- 
tem of benefits, as they are called, have attempted to engraft that system 
on Masonry. It is. however, clear that the benefit system, %uch as it is prao 



RIGHT OF RELIEF. 225 

This, therefore, I need scarcely say, is entirely 
different from the system of charity which is prac- 
tised in the Masonic institution. Here there is no 
question of arrears ; the stranger from the most 
distant land, if he be true and worthy, is as equally 
entitled to the charities of his brethren, as the most 
punctual paying member of the Lodge. The only 
claim that Masonic charity listens to is that of 
poverty ; the only requisite to insure relief is des- 
titution. The first claim, therefore, that is neces- 
sary to substantiate the Masonic right of relief is, 
that the Brother applying for assistance is really in 
distressed or needy circumstances. The demand 
for pecuniary aid can only be made by the poor and 
destitute. 

2. The applicant must he icovtliy. In the lan- 
guage of the Charge already quoted, he must be " a 
true and genuine Brother." The word true is here 
significant. It is the pure old Saxon treowe, which 
means faithful, and implies that he must be one who 

tised by modern friendly societies, would be an innovation upon Masonry, 
and any effort to introduce it should be promptly discouraged. On this sub- 
ject, a special committee of the Grand Ledge of the District of Columbia 
used, in 1849, the following appropriate language : 

" It is therefore clear that it is not part and parcel of Ancient Craft Ma- 
sonry, and if, as the majority of your committee believe, it is in violation of 
the spirit and essence of the principles thereof, it is an innovation that should 
be promptly checked by this Grand Lodge, and one so modern in its charac- 
ter, that it may be strangled, as it were, in its birth. If need be that the 
same individuals must congregate together, upon principles of this charac- 
ter, it should be accomplished under the banner cf some one of the organiza- 
tions of the day, where those principles are the polar star, and the great and 
zeading characteristics/' — Proceedings of ihe G. L. of the D. of Col^ 
1849, p. 47. 

10* 



226 EIGHT OF BELIEF. 

has "been faithful to his duties, faithful to his trusts, 
faithful to his obligations. The bad man, and 
especially the bad Mason, is unfaithful to all these, 
and is not true. There is no obligation either in 
the written law, or the ritualistic observances of the 
Order, that requires a Mason to relieve such an un- 
worthy applicant. By his infidelity to his promises, 
he brings discredit on the institution, and forfeits 
all his rights to relief. A suspended or expelled 
Mason, or one who, though neither, is yet of bad 
character and immoral conduct, cannot rightfully 
claim the assistance of a Mason, or a Lodge of 
Masons. 

3. The giver is not expected to exceed his ability in 
the amount of relief that he grants — that is to say, 
a Brother is expected to grant only such relief as 
will not materially injure himself or family. This 
is the unwritten law, and conformable to it is the 
written one, which says, " You are not charged to 
do beyond your ability.' 7 This provision is not in- 
consistent with the true principles of charity, which 
do not require that we should sacrifice our own wel- 
fare, or that of our family, to the support of the 
poor ; but that with prudent liberality, and a due 
regard to the comforts of those who are more 
nearly dependent on us, we should make some sacri- 
fice of luxury out of our abundance, if we have been 
blessed with it, for the relief of our distressed 
brethren. 

4. A Mason is to he "preferred to any other appli* 
cant in the same circumstances. The dutv of reliev* 



RIGHT OF RELIEF. 227 

ing a distressed Brother, in preference to any other 
persons under similar circumstances, although one 
of the objections which has often been urged against 
the Masonic institution by its opponents, as a mark 
of its exclusiveness, is nevertheless the identical 
principle which was inculcated eighteen centuries 
ago by the great Apostle of the Gentiles : " As we 
have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all 
men. especially unto them who are of the household 
of faith."* 

The principle thus taught by the Apostle seems 
to have been, by the very necessities of our nature, 
the principle which has governed the charities and 
kindnesses of every religious community, of every 
benevolent association, and. every political society 
that has existed before or since his day. Its foun- 
dations are laid in the human heart, and the senti- 
ment to which this doctrine gives birth is well ex- 
pressed by Charles Lamb, when he says : I can feel 
for all indifferently, but not for all alike. ..... 

I can be a friend to a worthy man, who, upon 
another account, cannot be my mate or fellow. I 
cannot like all people alike. "t 

The practice, then, of Freemasonry, to borrow 

* Galatians vi. 10. Dr. Adam Clarke explains this passage, on precisely 
the principle which governs the Masonic theory of charity : " Let us help all 
who need help, according to the uttermost of our power ; but let the first 
objects of our regards be those who are of the household of faith— the mem- 
bers of the church of Christ* who form one family, of which Jesus Christ is 
the head. Those have the first claims on our attention ; but all others have 
their claims also, and therefore we should do good unto aU. r — Comment 
in loc. 

1 Essays of Elia. 



228 RIGHT OP RELIEF. 

language which I have already used on a former 
occasion, is precisely in accordance witl' the doc- 
trine of the apostle already quoted. It strives to 
do good to all ; to relieve the necessitous and the 
deserving, whether they he of Jerusalem or Sama- 
ria ; to clothe the naked, to feed the hungry, and to 
comfort the distressed, always, however, giving a 
preference to those of its own household — those 
who, in the day of their prosperity, supported and 
upheld that institution on which, in the time of 
their distress, they have called for aid — those who 
have contributed out of their abundance to its 
funds, that those funds might be prepared to relieve 
them in their hour of want — those who have borne 
their share of the burden in the heat of the clay, 
that when their sun is setting, they may be entitled 
to their reward. And in so acting, Freemasonry 
has the warrant of universal custom, of the law of 
nature, and of the teachings of Scripture. 

Perhaps it is hardly necessary to add that the 
wives and children of Masons, while claiming re- 
lief through the right of their husbands and fathers, 
are subject to the same principles and restrictions 
as those which govern the application of Masons 
themselves. The destitute widow or orphans of a 
deceased Mason have a claim for relief upon the 
whole fraternity, which is to be measured by the 
same standard that would be applied if the Brother 
himself were alive, and asking for assistance.* 

* " The obligations of Master Masons and their Lodges are common to all 
in reference to the widows and orphans of deceased worthy Masons. The? 



RIGHT OF RELIEF. 229 

One interesting question, however, arises here. 
U nder what circumstances, and at what time does 
the right to claim assistance pass from the widow 
and orphans of a Mason ? 

The Committee on Foreign Correspondence of 
the Grand Lodge of New York, in 1851, announced 
the doctrine that the widow of a Mason does not 
forfeit her right to claim relief, although she may 
have married a second time.* ' I regret that I 
cannot concur in this too liberal view. It appears 
to me that the widow of a Mason derives her 
claim to Masonic relief from the fact of her widow- 
hood only, and therefore, that when she abandons 
that widowhood, she forfeits her claim. On her 
second marriage, her relations to the Order are 
obliterated as completely as are her relations to 
him whose name she has abandoned for that of 
another. If her new husband is not a Mason, I 
cannot see upon what ground she could rest her 
claim to Masonic protection ; not as the wife of 
her second husband, for that would give no founda- 

are not limited to fixed boundaries. Wherever the poor, destitute, or help- 
less widow or orphan of a deceased worthy brother is found, there the relief 
should be provided by the fraternity. There is no usage or regulation by 
which, like our State poor laws, the destitute are to be traced back to a for- 
mer settlement or residence. Each Lodge or Master Mason will administer 
relief to true objects of Masonic charity, where and when they may be found 
to exist." — Hubbard, Masonic Digest, p. 28. 

* " We think a wife, or widow of a Mason, although she may have married 
a second husband, or become widowed a second time, does not lose her claim 
upon Masons while she lives, and ought to be assisted whenever she may 
need it. if she is a worthy and reputable woman." — Proc. of G. L. of N. Y., 
1851, p. 147. A similar opinion is entertained by the Grand Lodge of 
Virginia. 



230 RIGHT OF RELIEF. 

tion for such a claim — not certainly as the widow 
of the first, for she is no longer a widow. 

The orphans of a "brother Mason are of course 
entitled to the protection of the Order, so long as 
their unprotected situation needs that protection. 
Boys, on arriving at adult age, and girls when they 
marry, place themselves, I think, in that situation 
which exonerates the Order from their further pro- 
tection. A hale and hearty man of twenty-five 
could scarcely venture to claim relief from the 
Order, on the ground that he was the son of a 
Mason ; nor could the wife of a man, in a similar 
worldly condition, make the same request, from the 
fact that she was a Mason's daughter. The widows 
and orphans of Masons are, I suppose, entitled to 
the charities of the institution only while they re- 
main widows and orphans. A second marriage 
necessarily dissolves widowhood, and by the custom 
of language, the idea of orphanage is connected 
with that of childhood and youth. The condition 
is lost on arrival at adult age.* 

Lastly, it must be remarked that the right of 
claiming relief is confined to Master Masons. Un- 
doubtedly, in the very early periods of the insti- 
tution, Fellow Crafts were permitted to make this 
claim ; and the older Constitutions refer to them as 
being entitled to relief. Subsequently, Apprentices 
were invested with the right ; but in each of these 

* Orbus, an orphan, and vidua, a widow, are respectively from the verbs 
orbo and viduo, which signify to bereave. Both words convey the idea of 
helplessness and destitution, and this makes their Masonic claim. 



RIGHT OF RELIEF. 231 

cases the right was conferred on these respective 
classes, because, at the time, they constituted the, 
main body of the craft. When in 1717, Apprentices 
were permitted to vote, to visit, and to enjoy all the 
rights of membership in Masonic Lodges — when 
they were in fact the chief constituents of the fra- 
ternity — they, of course, were entitled to claim 
relief. But the privileges then extended to Appren- 
tices have now been transferred to Master Masons. 
Apprentices no longer compose the principal part 
of the fraternity. They in fact constitute but a 
very small part of the craft. To remain an Appren- 
tice now, for any time beyond the constitutional 
period permitted for advancement, is considered as 
something derogatory to the Masonic character of 
the individual who thus remains in an imperfect 
condition. It denotes, on his part, either a want 
of Masonic zeal, or of Masonic ability. Apprentices 
no longer vote — they no longer visit— they are but 
inchoate Masons — Masons incomplete, unfinished — 
and as such are not entitled to Masonic relief. 

The same remarks are equally applicable to Fel- 
low Crafts. 

As to the right of relief which may or may not 
belong to Masons, who are not affiliated with any 
Lodge, that subject will be more properly discussed 
when we come, in a subsequent part of this work, to 
the consideration of unaffiliated Masons. 



282 RIGHT OP DEMISSION. 

SECTION VI. 

THE RIGHT OF DEMISSION. 

The word "demit"* is peculiarly and technically 
Masonic, and has no relation to, the obsolete verb 
" to demit," which signifies " to let fall, to depress, 
to submit." A Mason is said " to demit from a 
Lodge" when he withdraws from all connection 
with it. It is, in fact, the act which in any other 
society would be called a resignation. 

The right of demission is, then, an important 
right in its reference not only to the Mason who 
applies for it, but also to the Lodge which grants 
it, since its operation is to dissolve all Masonic con- 
nection between the two parties. It is not, there- 
fore, surprising that it has been made the topic of 
earnest discussion, and elicited various opinions 
among Masonic jurists. 

Does the right exist, and if so, under what re- 
strictions and with what effects? These are the 
questions that naturally suggest themselves, and 
must be thoroughly discussed before we can expect 
to obtain a clear comprehension of the subject. 

There never has been any doubt, that a Mason, 
being in good standing, has a right to demit from 

* I have no doubt that the usual orthography of this word is wrong, and 
that it should be spelled dimit, being derived from the Latin verb dimittere, 
to dismiss, to leave, to discharge. I have, however, continued the spelling 
which is sanctioned by constant usage, at least since the year 1723. " If a 
Master of a particular Lodge is deposed or demits," is the language of & 
regulation adopted in that year. See second edit, of Anderson, p. loi. 



EIGHT OF DEMISSION. 233 

one Lodge for the purpose of immediately joining 
another. To exercise tills undoubted right, how- 
ever, he must at the time be in good standing ; that 
is, free from all charges and their results. It is 
also admitted that all action on the application of 
any member for a demit will be suspended, if at the 
time of the application a charge shall be preferred 
against the applicant. In such a case he must sub- 
mit to a trial, and, if acquitted, his demit may then 
be granted. These are points of law about which 
there is no dispute. 

The only question of Masonic jurisprudence on 
this subject which has given rise to .any discussion 
is, whether a member can demit from a Lodge for 
the distinct purpose of severing all active connec- 
tion with the Order, and becoming an unaffiliated 
Mason. And it may be observed, that it is only 
within a few years that the right to do even this 
has been denied. 

The Grand Lodge of Connecticut, in 1853, de- 
cided "that no Lodge should grant a demit to any 
of its members, except for the purpose of joining 
some other Lodge ; and that no member shall be 
considered as having withdrawn from one Lodge 
until he has actually become a member of another." 

The Grand Lodge of Texas, governed by a simi- 
lar view of the subject, has declared that " it does 
not recognize the right of a Mason to demit or sep- 
arate himself from the Lodge in which he was made 
or may afterwards be admitted, except for the pur- 
pose of joining another Lodg3, or when he may be 



234 RIGHT OF DEMISSION. 

about to remove without the jurisdiction of the 
Lodge of which he is a member." 

I regret that I cannot concur in the correctness, 
in point of law, of these decisions and others of a 
similar import that have been made by some other 
Grand Lodges. Of course it is admitted that there 
is no Masonic duty more explicitly taught in the an- 
cient Constitutions than that which requires every 
Mason to be a member of some Lodge. But I can- 
not deny to any man the right of withdrawing, 
whenever he pleases, from a voluntary association. 
The laws of the land would not sustain the Masonic 
authorities in the enforcement of such a regulation, 
and our own self-respect, if there were no other 
motive, should prevent us from attempting it. 

Freemasonry is, in all respects, a voluntary asso- 
ciation, and as no one is expected or permitted to 
enter within its folds unless it be of his " own free 
will and accord," so should his continuance in it be 
through an exercise of the same voluntary disposi- 
tion. These are the views which were entertained 
by a committee whose report was adopted in 1854 
by the Grand Lodge of Ohio, and which they have 
expressed in the following language : 

" We recognize fully the doctrine laid down in the ancient 
Constitutions, ' that it is the duty of every Mason to belong 
to some regular Lodge.' But as his entrance into the frater- 
nity is of his own free will and accord, so should be the per- 
formance of this and every other Masonic duty. When, from 
whatever cause, he desires to withdraw his membership from 
the Lodge, it is his undoubted right to ask, and the duty of 



RIGHT OF DEMISSION. 2<to 

ihe Lodge, if there be no objection to his moral standing, 
to grant him an honorable discharge."* 

This, then, appears to nie to be the state of the 
law on this subject ; a Mason, being in good stand- 
ing, has a right to claim a demit from his Lodge, 
and the Lodge cannot withhold it. But a demit 
from a Lodge, as it severs the relation of the de- 
mitting member to his Lodge, and releases him from 
the obligation to pay dues, deprives him also of cer- 
tain privileges with which his membership had in- 
vested him. These, however, will become the sub- 
ject of consideration when we treat of unaffiliated 
Masons, in which class a demit necessarily places 
the individual who receives it. 

Although, as I have already said, there is no law 
in any of the ancient Constitutions which forbids 
the granting of demits to individual Masons, yet 
the whole spirit of the institution is opposed to such 
a system. To ask for a demit, without the inten- 
tion to uuite with another Lodge, is an act which 
no Mason can commit without violating the obliga- 
tions which he owes to the Order. It is an aban- 
donment of his colors, and although we have no 
power to prevent his desertion, yet we can visit his 
unfaithfulness with moral condemnation. 
. But there is a case of demission for which the 
Regulations of 1721"+ have especially enacted a law. 

* Proceedings of the G. L. of Ohio, 1354, p. 94. 

f No set or number of brethren shall withdraw or separate themselves 
from the Lodge in which they were made brethren, or were afterwards ad- 
mitted members, unless the Lodge becomes too numerous ; nor even then 
without a dispensation from the Grand Master or his Deputy ; and when 



236 EIGHT OF DEMISSION. 

When several brethren at one time apply for de- 
mits, the regulation prescribes that these demits 
shall be granted only where the Lodge is already 
too^numerous, and the intention of the clemitting 
brethren is to form a new Lodge, they having a dis- 
pensation for that purpose from the Grand Master, 
or at once to unite themselves with another Lodge. 
The withdrawal of many members at one time from 
a small Lodge would manifestly tend to its injury, 
and perhaps cause its dissolution ; and when this is 
done without the intention of those who have with- 
drawn to unite with any other Lodge, it is to be 
presumed that the act has been the result of pique 
or anger, and should not, therefore, be encouraged 
by the law. 

Still, however, we are again met with the diffi- 
culty which opposes us in the consideration of an 
application for a single demit. How is the law to 
be enforced? The Kegulation of 1721 simply de- 
clares that "no set or number of brethren shall 
withdraw or separate themselves from the Lodge," 
but it affixes no penalty for the violation of the 
regulation, and if a number of brethren should de- 
sire to withdraw, I know of no power in the Ma- 
sonic institution which can prevent them from exer- 
cising that right. It is true, that if an unmasonic 
feeling of anger or pique is plainly exhibited, so 

they are thus separated, they must immediately join themselves to such 
other Lodge as they shall like best, with the unanimous consent of that other 
Lodge to which they go, or else they must obtain the Grand Master's war 
rant to join in forming a new Lodge." — Regulations of 1721. Art. viii. 



EIGHT OP DEMISSION. 237 

that a charge can be predicated on it, the demits 
may be withheld until the charge is disproved. But 
unless such charge is made, the demits must be 
granted. The holding of membership in a Lodge 
is an absolute duty, but one which cannot be en- 
forced. If a Mason violates it, all that can be done 
is to visit him with the penalties which fall upon 
unaffiliated Masons. But he cannot be compelled 
to continue his membership contrary to his own in- 
clinations. The penalties of non-affiliation are to 
begin, not when a Brother asks for a demit, for this 
may be done for a good purpose, but when, after 
having received this demit, he" neglects or refuses, 
within a reasonable time, to unite with another 
Lodge. The demit must be granted, if the Mason 
applying is in good standing at the time, and the 
penalties of non-affiliation must be subsequently en- 
forced, if he renders himself obnoxious to them. 

The Grand Lodge of Connecticut forbids the 
granting of demits, except to join another Lodge. 
North Carolina says that " no Lodge possesses the 
power to allow a Brother to withdraw of his own 
accord." Texas does not recognize the right of de- 
mission. Missouri declares " that no Brother shall 
be permitted to demit from any Lodge, except for 
the purpose of traveling or joining another Lodge. " 

On the other side of the question, the Grand 
Lodge of Michigan thinks that " the compulsory 
method of keeping Masons after they have once 
been made is repugnant to the ^luntary character 
of the institution." Massachusetts doubts the power 



238 RIGHT OF APPEAL. 

of the Grand Lodge to obtain successful results in 
the case of compulsory membership, which it thinks 
' k even, if practicable, gives very slight promise of 
benTrat to either party." New York says, " demis- 
sion is the joint act of the Lodge and the member." 
Wisconsin, Virginia, Mississippi, Tennessee, and the 
majority of the Grand Lodges, while reprobating 
the practice of demitting, do not deny the right. 

Amidst these contradictory opinions, I have en- 
.deavored to be governed by the analogies of law 
and the principles of equity, which lead me to the 
belief that although a demission made with the in- 
tention of a total disseverance from the Order is a 
violation of Masonic duty, yet there is no power in 
a Lodge to refuse it when demanded. 

o 

SECTION VII. 

THE RIGHT OF APPEAL. 

The Right of Appeal is an inherent right belong- 
ing to every Mason, and the Grand Lodge is the 
appellate body, to whom the appeal is to be made. 
The principles of equality and justice, upon which 
the institution is founded, render it necessary that 
there should be a remedy for every injury done to 
or injustice inflicted upon the humblest of its mem- 
bers ; for, in Masonry as in the municipal law, it is 
held as a maxim that there is no wrong without a 
remedy — ubi jus ibi remedium* 

* " If a man has a right, he must have a means to vindicate and maintain, 
and a remedy, if he is inju^d in the exercise and enjoyment of it ; and, in- 
deed, it is a vain thing to imagine a right without a remedy ; for want of right 
and want of remedy are reciprocal." — Broom. Legal Maxims, y. 1 47 



RIGHT OF APPEAL. 239 

The doctrine of appeals is founded on this prin- 
ciple. It furnishes the remedy for any invasion of 
Masonic rights, and hence it may be considered as 
one of the most important prerogatives that the 
Mason possesses. 

Appeals are of two kinds : 1st, from the decision 
of the Master ; 2dly, from the decision of the Lodge. 
Each of these will require a distinct consideration. 

I. Appeals from the Decision of the Master. It is 
now a settled doctrine in Masonic law that there 
can be no appeal from the decision of a Master of 
a Lodge* to the Lodge itself. But an appeal al- 
ways lies from such decision to the Grand Lodge, 
which is bound to entertain the appeal and to in- 
quire into the correctness of the decisionf. Some 
writers have endeavored to restrain the despotic 
authority of the Master to decisions in matters 
strictly relating to the work of the Lodge, while 
they contend that on all questions of business an 
appeal may be taken from his decision to the Lodge. t 

* By this I mean the presiding officer, whether he be the Master, or a 
Warden, or Past Master, holding the office and occupying the chair pro 
tempore. 

f " It is not in accordance with ancient Masonic usage to allow an appeal 
to be taken from the decision of the Worshipful Master to the Lodge which 
he governs, upon any question whatever. It is his Lodge,iin& while he con- 
tinues to be Master, he has a right to rule, and they are bound to obey ; but 
for any undue assumptions of authority he is amenable to the Grand Lodge 
and his Lodge, or any member thereof, may present the facts in any particu- 
lar case, whenever they believe their Master has erred, to the Grand Lodge 
tfho alone has the right to hear • and determine such matter." — Com. For 
Cor. a. L. of Ohio, 1848, p. 93. 

X Thus the Grand Lodge of Ohio, in 1846, adopted the report of a com 
mittee which announced that an appeal from the decision of the Master 



240 RIGHT OF APPEAL. 

But it would be unsafe, and often impracticable, to 
draw tins distinction, and accordingly the highest 
Masonic authorities have rejected the theory and 
denied, the power in a Lodge to entertain an appeal 
from any decision of the presiding officer. 

It must be admitted that, with the present under- 
standing of the law on this subject, the power of the 
Master is to a great extent rendered despotic in his 
Lodge. But on the other hand, by the wise pro- 
visions of the same law, this despotism is restrained 
by the most salutary checks. The Master himself 
is bound by the most solemn obligations to the faith- 
ful discharge of his duties and the impartial admin- 
istration of justice and equity. And as a still fur- 
ther safeguard, the Grand Lodge, as the appellate 
court of the jurisdiction, is ever ready to listen to 
appeals, to redress grievances, to correct the errors 
of an ignorant Master, and to punish the unjust de- 
cisions of an iniquitous one. 

As it is admitted to be the settled law of Masonry 
that no appeal can be taken from the decision of the 
chair to the Lodge, and as it is the duty of the 
Master to see that the laws of Masonry are strictly 
enforced in the body over which he presides, it fol- 
lows, that any permission of an appeal " by cour- 
tesy," as it is called, would be highly wrong. The 
Master may, it is true, at all times, consult the mem- 

on a question of business, " was lawful and proper." But in the following 
year the Committee of Foreign Correspondence repudiated the doctrine as 
an unconstitutional innovation, in the emphatic language which I have al 
ready quoted in the note on the preceding page. 



RIGHT OF APPEAL. 241 

Ders of his Lodge on any subject relating to their 
common interest, and may also, if he thinks proper, 
be guided by their advice. But when he has once 
made a decision on any subject and officially pro- 
claimed it, he should, under no promptings of deli- 
cacy or forbearance, permit it to be submitted to the 
Lodge for consideration, under an appeal. That 
decision must be the law to the Lodge, until over- 
ruled by the paramount decision of the Grand 
Lodge. The Committee of Foreign Correspond- 
ence of the Grand Lodge of Tennessee took, there- 
fore, the proper view of this subject, when they said 
that the admission of appeals by courtesy, that is 
with the concurrence of the Master, might ulti- 
mately become a precedent from which would be 
claimed the absolute right to take appeals. 

The wisdom of this law must be apparent to any 
one who examines the nature of the organization of 
the Masonic institution. The Master is responsible 
to the Grand Lodge for the good conduct of his 
Lodge. To him and to him alone the supreme Ma- 
sonic authority looks for the preservation of order 
and the observance of the modern laws, the ancient 
Constitutions, and the Landmarks of the Order in 
that branch of the institution over which he has 
been appointed to preside. It is manifest, then, 
that it would be highly unjust to throw around a 
presiding officer so heavy a responsibility, if it were 
in the power of the Lodge to overrule his decisions 
or to control his authority. As the law will make 
no distinction between the acts of a Lodge and its 

11 



242 EIGHT OF APPEAL. 

Master," and will not permit the latter to east the 
odium of any error upon the body over which he 
presides and which he is supposed to control, it is 
but right that he should be invested with an unlim- 
ited power corresponding with his unlimited re- 
sponsibilities. 

II. Appeals from the Decisions of the Lodge. Ap- 
peals may be made to the Grand Lodge from the 
decisions of a Lodge, on any subject except the ad- 
mission of members, or the election of candidates ;* 
but these appeals are more frequently made in refer- 
ence to conviction and punishment after trial. 

When a Mason, in consequence of charges prefer- 
red against him, has been tried, convicted, and sen- 
tenced by his Lodge, he has an inalienable right to 
appeal to the Grand Lodge from such conviction 
and sentence. 

His appeal may be either general or specific. 
That is, he may appeal on the ground, generally, 
that the whole of the proceedings have been irregu- 
lar or illegal, or he may appeal specifically against 
some particular portion of the trial ; or lastly, ad- 
mitting the correctness of the verdict, and acknowl- 
edging the truth of the charges, he may appeal from 
the sentence, as being too severe or disproportion- 
ate to the offence. 

In order that the Grand Lodge may be enabled 
to come to a just conclusion on the merits of the 

* By the Regulations of 1721, the choke of members, whether by affilia- 
tion or initiation, is made an inherent privilege in the Lodges, with which the 
Grand Lodge cannot interfere. 



RIGHT OF APPEAL. 243 

question, it is necessary that the Lodge should fur- 
nish an attested copy of the charge or charges, and 
of the proceedings on the trial, and this it is bound 
to do. 

There is no specific rule to govern the Grand 
Lodge in the forms which it may adopt for con- 
ducting the review of the case. But the most usual 
method is to refer the appeal, with the testimony 
and other papers, to a committee, upon whose re- 
port, after a full investigation, the Grand Lodge 
will act, and .either confirm or reverse the decision 
of the Lodge. 

If the Grand Lodge confirms the verdict of the 
subordinate, the appeal is dismissed, and the sen- 
tence of the Lodge goes into operation, without fur 
ther action on the part of the Lodge. 

If, on the contrary, the Grand Lodge reverses the 
decision of its subordinate, the appellant is placed 
thereby in the same position that he occupied before 
the trial. But the consequences of this action, as 
it involves some very important points of Masonic 
law, will be fully discussed when we come to the 
consideration of the subject of Restoration, in a sub- 
sequent part of this work. 

But the Grand Lodge, instead of a complete con- 
firmation or reversal, may find it necessary only to 
modify the decision of the Lodge. 

It may, for instance, approve the finding of the 
verdict, but disapprove of the sentence, as being too 
severe ; in which case a milder one may be substi- 
tuted. As, for instance, expulsion may be reduced 



244 RIGHT OF APPEAL. 

to suspension. On the other hand, the Grand Lodge 
may consider the punishment inflicted not commen- 
surate with the magnitude of the offence, and may 
substitute a higher grade, as expulsion instead of 
suspension. It must be understood that, although 
in these cases the Grand Lodge is acting in some 
respects as an appellate court, it is not to be con- 
trolled by all the rules that govern such bodies in 
the municipal law. It cannot divest itself of its 
high position as the supreme Masonic authority of 
the State, and may at any time, or at any part of the 
proceedings, abandon the appellate character and 
assume an original jurisdiction.* 

Lastly, the Grand Lodge, being dissatisfied either 
with the sufficiency of the testimony, the formality 
and legality of the proceedings, or the adequacy of 
the punishment, may simply refer the case back to 
its subordinate for a new trial. If the reference 
back has been made on the ground that the testimo- 
ny was not sufficient, or the proceedings irregular, 
then the trial in the Lodge must be commenced de 
novo, and if the Brother is again convicted, he may 
again appeal ; for no number of convictions can 
abrogate the right of appeal, which is inalienably 
invested in every Mason. But if the case is refer- 

* Thus the Grand Lodge of Mississippi adopted the report of a committee 
which affirmed that " the Grand Lodge has ample power to act directly in 
the case, by reversing the decision of the subordinate Lodge, without sending 
the case back to the Lodge from which the appeal came up." — Proc. G. 
L. of Miss., 1857, p. 60. Authorities on this subject might easily be multi- 
plied, as instances occur every year in which sentences are reversed without 
bein.; sent back for trial. In all these cases the Grand Lodges abandon Iheir 
appellate character and assume original jurisdiction. 



EIGHT OF APPEAL. 245 

red back on account of the inadequacy of the pun- 
ishment, as "being too severe or too lenient, it will 
not be necessary to institute a new trial, but simply 
to review that part of the proceedings which relate 
to the sentence. 

The question here suggests itself, whether on an 
appeal any new evidence which had not come before 
the Lodge can be introduced by either party. It is 
contrary to the spirit of the municipal law, in the 
trial of an appeal by a superior court, to permit the 
introduction of evidence that was not originally 
given to the court below,* because, as the question 
is whether they did right or not upon the evidence 
that appeared to them, " the law judged it the high- 
est absurdity to produce any subsequent proof upon 
such trial, and to condemn the prior jurisdiction for 
not believing evidence which they never knew."t 
But in Masonic appeals the principle is different. 
Here, as I have already observed, the Grand Lodge 
does not act, simply, as a court of appeals, but as 
the supreme Masonic authority, and may at any time 
assume original jurisdiction in the case. The Grand 
Lodge, at all times, when any of the great principles 
of Masonic polity are at issue — whether the hum- 
blest of its children may have received an injury, or 
one of its Lodges have abused its chartered privi- 
leges and inflicted an act of injustice — is not to be 

* " It is a practice unknown to our law, (though constantly followed in the 
spiritual courts,) when a superior Courtis reviewing the sentenee of an infe- 
rior, to examine the justice of the former decree by evidence that was never 
produced below.''— Blackstoxe, Comment, b. hi. ch. 27. 

t Jbirl b. ill. ch. 25. 



246 EIGHT OF APPEAL. 

governed by the technicalities of law, but by the 
great principles of justice. Like the Roman consuls 
in the hour of public danger, it is invested with a 
dictatorial power " to see that the republic receive 
no harm."* 

Hence it is competent for the Grand Lodge to re- 
ceive any new evidence, or to inquire into any new 
matter, which will throw light upon the question at 
issue between the Lodge and the appellant. t But 
unless the case be one of aggravated wrong or very 
palpable error, which the new evidence brings to 
light, a due sense of courtesy, which is a Masonic 
virtue, will prevent the Grand Lodge from at once 
reversing the decision of the subordinate Lodge, but 
it will remand the case, with the new evidence, to 
the Lodge, for a new trial. 

In conclusion, it must be remarked, that the de- 
termination of the position of the appellant, during 
the pendency of the appeal, is a question of law that 
is involved in much difficulty. Formerly I enter- 
tained the opinion that the appellant in this case 
remains in the position of a Mason " under charges." 

* Ne quid republica detrimenti caperet. " In extraordinary cases, the 
Senate made an act that the consuls should take care that the common- 
wealth received no detriment ; by which words they gave absolute power to 
the consuls to raise armies and to do whatever they thought proper for the 
public interest." — Duncan's Cicero, p. 116. This is just the absolute- power 
possessed at all times by a Grand Lodge. It is to see that the Masonic com 
monwealth receives no detriment, and may override all technical laws, ex 
cept landmarks, to attain this object. 

f The Grand Lodge of Ohio, in 1823, adopted this standing resolution, 
that, in the case of an appeal, " the Lodge, or the person charged, shall have 
the benefit of any additional testimony."— Proceed. G. L. of Ohio, 1823, 
p. 139 



RIGHT OF APPEAL. 247 

But a more mature reflection on this subject, in- 
duced by a very general opposition of the fraterni- 
ty, has led me to review my decision. It is admit- 
ted as Masonic law, that until the opinion of the 
higher body is known, that of the lower must con- 
tinue in force. Thus, if the Master decides a point 
of order erroneously, the Lodge must obey it until 
it is reversed, on appeal, by the Grand Lodge. 
This doctrine is founded on the principle of obe- 
dience to authority, which lies at the very founda- 
tion of the Masonic organization. Hence, judging 
by analogy in the cases under consideration, I am 
compelled honestly to abandon my former views, 
and believe that the sentence of the Lodge goes 
into operation at once, and is to be enforced until 
the Grand Lodge shall think proper to reverse it. 
Still, the position of an expelled Mason who has 
appealed is not precisely the same as that of one 
who has submitted to the sentence of expulsion. 
The Grand Lodge of New York has very properly 
defined expulsion as implying " a termination not 
only of Masonic intercourse and connection with 
the bodj' inflicting it, but from the Masonic frater- 
nity, unless an appeal be made."* Now the last 
words qualify the definition, and show that expul- 
sion, when an appeal has been made, does not pre- 
cisely imply the same thing as expulsion when no 
appeal has been entered. Again : expulsion has 
b?en metaphorically described as Masonic death. 
< ontinuing the metaphor, we may say that expul 

Const. G. I,, of New York, § 45. 



218 EIGHT OF APPEAL. 

sion under appeal is rather a state of Masonic 
trance than of death. The expelled person is, it is 
true, deprived of all exercise of his Masonic func- 
tions, and is incapable of any communion with his 
brethren, but the termination of the case is rendered 
uncertain by the existence of the appeal. It may 
end in a confirmation of the expulsion, or in his re- 
covery and restoration to Masonic rights. So that 
if a specific term is required to designate the condi- 
tion of one who has been suspended or expelled, 
during the pendency of his appeal from the sen- 
tence, it may be called a quasi suspension, or quasi 
expulsion. The individual is not really a suspended 
or expelled Mason until his appeal is dismissed and 
the sentence confirmed ; but in the meantime he is 
divested of all his Masonic rights, except that of 
appeal. 

The right of appeal differs from the other rights 
which have been the subject of discussion, in this, 
that it is not confined to Master Masons, but is 
equally enjoyed by Fellow Crafts, and even Entered 
Apprentices. The humblest member of the frater- 
nity, when he supposes himself to be injured or 
unjustly treated by his superiors, is entitled to his 
redress, in an appeal to the Grand Lodge ; for, as 
has been already observed, it is the wisdom of the 
law that where there is a wrong, there must be a 
remedy 



RIGHT OF BURIAL. 249 



SECTION VIII. 

THE RIGHT OF BURIAL. 

The right to "be conducted to his last home by his 
Dretliren, and to be committed to his mother earth 
with the ceremonies of the Order, is one that, under 
certain restrictions, belongs to every Master Mason. 

I have sought, in vain, in all the ancient Consti- 
tutions, to find any law upon this subject • nor can 
the exact time be now determined when funeral 
processions and a burial service were first admitted 
as Regulations of the Order. 

The celebrated caricature of a mock procession 
of the " Scald Miserable Masons/ 1 " as it was called, 
was published in 1742, and represented a funeral 
procession. This would seem to imply that Masonic 
funeral processions must have been familiar at that 
time to the people ; for a caricature, however dis- 
torted, must have an original for its foundation. 

The first official notice, however, that we have of 
funeral processions is in November of the year 1754, 
when we learn that " several new regulations con- 
cerning the removal of Lodges, funeral processions, 
and Tilers, which had been recommended by the 
last Committee of Charity for Laws of the Grand 
Lodge, were taken into consideration and unani- 
mously agreed to."t 

The regulation then adopted prohibited any Ma- 

* A copy of this caricature will be found in Gavel's Eistoire Pitioresqut 
dela Franc-wiaronnerie, p, 174. 
f Book of Constitutions, third edit., p. 273. 

11* 



250 EIGHT OF BURIAL. 

son, under the severest penalties, from attending 
a funeral or other procession, clothed in any of the 
jewels or badges of the craft, except "by dispensa- 
tion of the Grand Master or his Deputy.* 

I can find no further regulations on this subject, 
either in the previous or subsequent editions of the 
Book of Constitutions, until we arrive at the mod- 
ern code which is now in force in the Grand Lodge 
of England. 

Preston, however, to whom we are indebted for 
the funeral service, which has been the basis of all 
modern improvements or attempts at improvement, 
has supplied us with the rules on this subject, which 
have now been adopted, by general consent, as the 
law of the Order. 

The regulations as to funerals are laid down by 
Preston in the following words : 

"No Mason can bo interred with the formalities of the 
Order, unless it be at his own special request, communicated 
to the Master of the Lodge of which he died a member — 
foreigners and sojourners excepted ; nor unless he has been 
advanced to the third degree of Masonry, from which re- 
striction there can be no exception. Fellow Crafts or Ap- 
prentices are not entitled to the funeral obsequies. "f 

The only restrictions prescribed by Preston are, 
it will be perceived, that the deceased must have 
been a Master Mason, and that he had himself made 
the request. But the great increase of unaffiliated 
Masons, a class that did not exist in such numbers 

* Book of Constitutions, third edit., p. 365. 
t Preston, Illustrations, Olivei's edit., p. 89. 



RIGHT OF BURIAL. 251 

in former times, has led many Grand Lodges to 
introduce as a new restriction the regulation that 
unaffiliated Masons shall not be entitled to Masonic 
burial. I have called this a new restriction ; but 
although not made in as many words in the rule of 
Preston, it seems to be evidently implied in the fact 
that the Mason was expected, previous to his death, 
to make the request for funeral obsequies of the 
Master of the Lodge of which lie died a member. 
As unaffiliated Masons could not comply with this 
provision, it follows that they could not receive 
Masonic burial. At all events, it has now become 
an almost universal regulation. 

As Master Masons alone possess the right of Ma- 
sonic burial, and as the Lodge, preparatory to that 
occasion, is required to be opened in the third de- 
gree, it follows that Fellow Crafts and Entered Ap- 
prentices are not permitted to join in a funeral pro- 
cession, and accordingly we find that in the form of 
procession laid down by Preston no place is allotted 
to these inferior classes of the fraternity, in which 
he has been followed by all subsequent monitorial 
writers. 

As to the dispensation spoken of in the Regula- 
tions of 1754, as being required from the Grand 
Master or his Deputy, for a funeral procession, as 
that regulation was adopted at so late a period, it 
cannot be considered as universal Masonic law. 
To make it obligatory in any jurisdiction, it is ne- 
cessary that it should be adopted as a local law by 
specific enactment of the Grand Lodge of that juris 



ZOZ RIGHT OF BURIAL. 

diction. And although it may be admitted that, for 
large cities especially, it is a very wholesome regu- 
lation, many Grand Lodges have neglected or de- 
clined to adopt it. In the United States, dispen- 
sations for this purpose have very seldom., if at all, 
been required. Indeed, Preston, in explaining the 
object of the regulation, says : " It was planned to 
put a stop to mixed and irregular conventions of 
Masons, and to prevent them from exposing to de- 
rision the insignia of the Order, by parading through 
the streets on unimportant occasions ; it was not, 
however, intended to restrict the privileges of any 
regular Lodge, or to encroach on the legal pre- 
rogative of any installed Master."* Accordingly, in 
America, Masons have generally been permitted to 
bury their dead without the necessity of a dispensa- 
tion, and the Master of the Lodge engaged in this 
melancholy task, while supposed to be possessed of 
competent discretion to regulate the ceremony, is of 
course, held amenable to the Grand Lodge for any 
impropriety that may occur. 

However, the Grand Lodge of New York, in 
1845, probably for the purpose of providing against 
the consequences of such irregularities as are alluded 
to by Preston, enacted that, " no dispensation au- 
thorizing a funeral procession in the city of New 
York, except for a sojourner, shall be issued, unless 
requested by the Master and Wardens of the Lodge 
to which the deceased member belonged." - } 

* Prestdn, ]). 90. t Const. G L. of New York, § 132. 



CHAPTER IV. 
©f 39 z st Rasters, 

Before proceeding to a consideration of tlie du- 
ties and prerogatives of Past Masters, the attention 
of the reader must be called to the fact that there 
are two distinct classes of Masons who bear this 
technical appellation, namely, those who have pre- 
sided over a Lodge of Ancient Craft Masons, and 
those who have received the Past Master's degree 
in a Chapter of Koyal Arch Masons. Those of the 
former class are tnown as " actual Past Masters/ 7 
and those of the latter as " virtual Past Masters." 

It is only of the former class — the actual Past 
Masters — who derive the title from having presided 
over a symbolic Lodge, that I propose to speak in 
the present work. 

Past Masters possess but very few positive rights, 
distinct from those which accrue to all Master 
Masons. 

The first and most important of these is eligi- 
bility to membership in the Grand Lodge. A few 
years ago, in consequence of a schism which took 
place in the jurisdiction of New York, an attempt 
was made to assert for Past Masters an inherent 



254 OF PAST MASTERS. 

right to tli "s membership; but the long and able dis- 
cussions which were conducted in almost all the 
Grand Lodges of the Union have apparently settled 
the question forever, and irresistibly led to the con- 
clusion that Past Masters possess no such inherent 
right, and that membership in a Grand Lodge can 
only be secured to them as an act of courtesy by a 
special enactment of the body. 

In the earlier history of Masonry, when the Gen- 
eral Assembly, which met annually, was composed 
of the whole body of the craft, Past Masters, of 
course, were admitted to membership in that assem- 
blage. And so also were all Master Masons and 
Fellow Crafts.* But at the organization of the 
Grand Lodge on a representative basis, in 1717, 
Past Masters were not originally admitted as mem- 
bers. The old Constitutions do not anywhere re- 
cognize them. There is no mention made of them in 
any of the editions of Anderson or his editors, En- 
tick and Northouck. Even the schismatic body of 
" Ancients," in England, in the last century, did not 
at first recognize them as a distinct class, entitled 
to any peculiar privileges. Dermott, in the edition 
of his " Ahiman Rezon," published in 1778, prefixed 
a note to his copy of the Old and New Regulation, 
taken from Anderson's edition of 1738, in which 
note he says, " Past Masters of warranted Lodges 
on record are allowed this privilege, (membership 
in the Grand Lodge,) whilst they continue to be 

* Thus the Gothic Constitutions say that, in 926," Prince Edwin summoned 
all the Free and Accepted Masons in the kingdom to meet him in a Congre- 
gation at York."— Anderson, second edit., p. 64. 



OF PAST MASTERS. 255 

members of any regular Lodge."* But in the pre- 
vious edition of the same work, published in 1764, 
this note is not to be found, nor is there the slightest 
reference to Past Masters, as members of the Grand 
Lodge. Preston states that, at the laying of the 
foundation-stone of Coven t Garden Theatre, in 1803, 
by the Prince of Wales, as Grand Master, " the 
Grand Lodge was opened by Charles March, Esq., 
attended by the Masters and. Wardens of all the 
regular Lodges ;" and in no part of the description 
which he gives of the ceremonies is any notice taken 
of Past Masters as constituting a part of the Grand. 
Lodge, t 

The first notice which we obtain of Past Masters 
as a component part of the Grand Lodge of Eng- 
land, is in the " Articles of Union between the two 
Grand. Lodges of England/ 7 which were adopted in 
1813, and in which it is declared that the Grand 
Lodge shall consist of the Grand and Past Grand 
Officers, of the actual Masters and Wardens of all 
the warranted Lodges, and of the " Past Masters of 
Lodges who have regularly served and passed the 
chair before the day of union, and who continued, 
without secession, regular contributing members of 
a warranted Lodge." But it is also provided, that, 
after the decease of all these ancient Past Masters 
the representation of every Lodge shall consist of 
its Master and Wardens, and one Past Master only .% 
This was, however, evidently, a compromise made 

* DEEiioiT, Ahiman Rezon, ed. 1778 p 70. 
t Preston, Oliver's edit., p. 341. 
t Ibid. p. 362L 



2<ro OF PAST MASTERS. 

for the sake of the Athol Past Masters, who from 
1778, and perhaps a little earlier, had enjoyed the 
privileges of membership, just as in 1858, a similar 
compromise was made by the Grand Lodge of New 
York, at its union with the schismatic body, when 
all Past Masters, who were members of the Grand 
Lodge in 18-19, were permitted to continue their 
membership. But the regular Grand Lodge of Eng- 
land never recognized the inherent right of Past 
Masters to membership in the Grand Lodge, as will 
appear from the following language used in a re- 
port adopted by that body in 1851 : 

" We think it clear that the right of Past Masters to vote 
in. Grand Lodge, wherever and so long as that right subsists, 
is due to, and depends entirely upon, the Constitutions which 
grant such a privilege, and therefore is not inherent."* 

It seems, therefore, now to be admitted by very 
general consent of all authorities, that Past Masters 
possess no inherent right to membership in a Grand 
Lodge ; but as every Grand Lodge is invested with 
the prerogative of making regulations for its own 
government, provided the landmarks are preserved,? 
it may or may not admit Past Masers to membership 
and the right of voting, according to its own notions 
of expediency. This will, however, of course be, 
in each jurisdiction, simply a local law which the 
Grand Lodge may at any time amend or abrogate. 

* Report of the Committee of the Grand Lodge of England on the New 
York difficulties. 

f " Every annual Grand Lodge has an inherent right, power, and authority 

to make new regulations, provided always that the old landmarks ha 

carefully preserved.''— JRegulat ions of 1721. Art. xxxix. See ante p. 79, 



OP PAST MASTERS. 257 

Still, the fact that Past Masters, by virtue of 
their rank, are capable of receiving such a courtesy 
when Master Masons are not, in itself constitutes a 
prerogative, and the eligibility to election as mem- 
bers of the Grand Lodge, with the consent of that 
body, may be considered as one of the rights of Past 
Masters. 

Another right possessed by Past Masters is that 
of presiding over their Lodges, in the absence of 
the Master, and with the consent of the Senior War- 
den, or of the Junior, if the Senior is not present. 
The authority of the absent Master descends to the 
Wardens in succession, and one of the Wardens 
must, in such case, congregate the Lodge. After 
which he may, by courtesy, invite a Past Master of 
the Lodge to preside. But as this congregation of 
the Lodge by a Warden is essential to the legality 
of the communication, it follows that, in the ab- 
sence of the Master and both Wardens, the Lodge 
cannot be opened ; and consequently, under such 
circumstances, a Past Master cannot preside. But 
no member, unless he be a Warden or a Past Mas- 
ter, with the consent of the Warden, can preside 
over a Lodge ; and, therefore, the eligibility of a 
Past Master to be so selected by the Warden, and. 
after the congregation of the Lodge by the latter 
officer, to preside over its deliberations and conduct 
its work, may be considered as one of the rights of 
Past Masters. 

Past Masters also are invested with the right of 
installing their successors, There is, it is true, no 



258 OF PAST MASTERS. 

Ancient Regulation which expressly confers upot 
them this prerogative, but it seems always to have 
been the usage of the fraternity to restrict the in- 
stalling power to one who had himself been install- 
ed, so that there might be an uninterrupted suc- 
cession in the chair. Thus, in the "Ancient In- 
stallation Charges," which date at least as far back 
as the seventeenth century, in describing the way in 
which the charges at an installation were given, it 
is said,* " tunc unus ex senioribus tenet librum, et 
illi ponent manum suam super librum ;" that is, " then 
one of the elders holds the book [of the law], and 
they place their hand upon it j" where senioribus, 
may be very well interpreted as meaning the elder 
Masters, those who have presided over a Lodge : 
seniores, elders, like the equivalent Greek vrpefiwrspoi, 
presbyters, being originally a term descriptive of 
age which was applied to those in authority. 

In 1717, the first Grand Master, under the new 
organization, was installed, as we learn from the 
book of Constitutions, by the oldest Master of a 
Lodge. t Preston also informs us, in his ritual of 
installation, that when the Grand Master does not 
act, any Master of a Lodge may perform the cere- 
mony. J Accordingly, Past Masters have been uni- 
versally considered as alone possessing the right of 
installation. In this and all similar expressions, it 
must be understood that Past Masters and installed 

* See Preston, 01. ed., p. 71, note. 
t See Anderson, second edit., p 110. 
J Preston, Oi. ed., p. 71, note. 



Of PAST MASTERS. 259 

Masters, although not having been twelve months 
in the chair, are in Masonic law identical. A*Mas- 
ter of a Lodge becomes a Past Master, for all legal 
purposes, as soon as he is installed. 

A Past Master is eligible to election to the chair, 
without again passing through the office of Warden. 
The Old Charges prescribe that no one can be a 
Master until he has served as a Warden. Past 
Masters having once served in the office of Warden, 
always afterwards retain this prerogative conferred 
by such service. 

Past Masters are also entitled to a seat in the 
East, on the right and left of the Worshipful Mas- 
ter, that he may, on all necessary occasions, avail 
himself of their counsel and experience in the gov- 
ernment of the Lodge ; but this is a matter left en- 
tirely to his own discretion, for in the deliberations 
of the Lodge the Master is supreme, and Past Mas- 
ters possess no other privileges of speaking and 
voting than belong to all other Master Masons. 
As a mark of respect, and as a distinction of rank, 
Past Masters are to be invested with a jewel pecu- 
liar to their dignity.""" 

By a Regulation contained in the Charges ap- 
proved in 1722, it appears that none but Past Mas- 
ters were eligible to the offices of Deput}^ Grand 

* The jewel of a Past Master, in the United States, is a pair of compasses 
extended to sixty degrees, on the fourth part of a circle, with a sun in tha 
centre. In England, it was formerly the square on a quadrant, but is, by 
later regulations, the Master's square, with a silver plate suspended within it, 
en which is engraved the celebrated forty-seventh problem of Euclid. 



260 OF PAST MASTERS. 

Master, or Grand Warden.""" The office of Grand 
Master, however, required no such previous qualifi 
cation. The highest officer of the Order might be 
selected from the ranks of the fraternity. The rea- 
son of this singular distinction is not at first appa- 
rent, but, on reflection, will be easily understood. 
The Deputy and Wardens were the working officers 
of the Grand Lodge, and expected to bring to the 
discharge of the duties of their stations some expe- 
rience derived from previous service in the Order. 
Hence they were selected from the elders of the 
craft. But the Grand Master was always, when 
possible, selected, not on account of his Masonic 
knowledge or experience — for these, it was supposed, 
would be supplied for him by his Deputy t — but on 
account of the lustre that his high position and in- 
fluence in the state would reflect upon the Order. 
Thus, the Old Charges say that the Grand Master 
must be " nobly born, or a gentleman of the best 
fashion, or some eminent scholar, or some curious 
architect or other artist, descended of honest pa- 
rents, and who is of singular great merit, in the 
opinion of the Lodges. "J But it was seldom possi- 
ble to find a nobleman, or other distinguished per- 
son, who had passed through the inferior offices of 
the Order, or bestowed any very practical attention 

* See ante p. 58. 

f Thus the General Regulations of 1721, in view of this fact, provide that 
" the Grand Master should receive no intimation of business concerning Ma 
sonry, but from his Deputy first," and the Deputy is also directed " to prepare 
the business speedily, and to lay it orderly before his Worship."- -A ri. xvi. 

+ See ante p. 58. 



OF PAST MASTERS. 261 

on Masonry. It was, therefore, thought better that 
the craft should enjoy the advantages of a Grand 
Master in high social position, however unskilled in 
the art he might be, than of one, no matter how 
much Masonic experience he possessed, if he was 
without worldly influence. Therefore no other qua- 
lification was required for the office of Grand Mas- 
ter than that of being a Fellow Craft. The regu- 
lation is not now necessary, for Masonry in the 
elevated condition that it has now attained, needs 
no extraneous influence to support it, and Grand 
Masters are often selected for their experience and 
Masonic zeal ; but, in the eighteenth century, the 
Order undoubtedly derived much advantage, as it 
does even now in Europe, from the long array of 
royal and noble Grand Masters. 

All that has been here said of the rights of Past 
Masters must be considered as strictly referring to 
actual Past Masters only ; that is to say, to Past- 
Masters who have been regularly installed to pre- 
side over a Lodge of Ancient Craft Masons, under 
the jurisdiction of a Grand Lodge. Virtual Past 
Masters, or those who have received the degree in 
a Chapter, as preparatory to exaltation to the Eoyal 
Arch, possess none of these rights. 

A few years ago, this distinction of actual and 
virtual Past Masters gave rise to much discussion in 
the Order ; and although the question of their re- 
spective rights is now very generally settled, it is 
proper that a few words should be devoted to its 
consideration. 



262 OF PAST MASTERS. 

The question to be investigated is, whether a vir 
tual or Chapter Past Master can install the Mastei 
elect of a symbolic Lodge, or be present when he 
receives the Past Master's degree during the cere 
mony of installation. 

The Committee of Foreign Correspondence ol 
New York, held, in 1851, that a Chapter Past Mas- 
ter cannot legally install the Master of a symbolic 
Lodge, but that there is no rule forbidding his be- 
ing present at the ceremony. 

In South Carolina, virtual Past Masters are not 
permitted to install, or be present when the degree is 
conferred at the installation of a Master of a Lodge. 
They are not recognized by the Grand Lodge. 

Bro. Gedge, of Louisiana, asserted, in 1852, that 
" it is the bounden duty of all Grand Lodges to pre- 
vent the possessors of the Chapter degree from the 
exercise of any function appertaining to the office 
and attributes of an installed Master of a Lodge of 
symbolic Masonry, and refuse to recognize them as 
belonging to the Order of Past Masters."* 

Bro. Albert Pike, one of the most distinguished 
Masonic jurists of the present day, says Chat he does 
not consider " that the Past Master's degree, con- 
ferred in a Chapter, invests the recipient with any 
rank or authority, except within the Chapter itself; 

* At the same communication the Grand Lodge of Louisiana unanimously 
adopted a resolution, declaring that "it can only concede, and does only 
concede the title and privileges, and confide the duties of Past Master only 
to such Master Masons as have heen regularly elected and installed into the 
office of Master of a Lodge of symbolic Freemasonry, constituted and char- 
tered by a lawful Grand Lodge.''— Proc. G. L. of La., pp. 76 and 90. 



OF PAST MASTERS. 263 

that it in no way qualifies or authorizes him to pre- 
side in the chair of a Lodge ; that a Lodge has no 
legal means of knowing that he has received the de- 
gree in a Chapter; for it is not to know anything 
that takes place there any more than it knows what 
takes place in a Lodge of Perfection, or a Chapter 
of Rose Croix."* whence it follows, that if the actual 
Past Masters of a lodge have no legal means of 
recognition of the virtual Past Masters of a Chap- 
ter, the former cannot permit the latter to install 
or be present at an installation. t" 

The foundation of this rule is laid in the soundest 
principles of reason. It is evident, from all Masonic 
history, that the degree of Past Master, which was 
exceedingly simple in its primitive construction, 
was originally conferred by symbolic Lodges, as an 
honorarium or reward upon those brethren who had 
been called to preside in the Oriental chair. Thus 
it was simply an official degree, and could only be 
obtained in the Lodge which had conferred the of- 
fice. But as it always has been a regulation of the 
Royal Arch degree that it can be conferred only on 
one who has ''passed the chair," or received the 
Past Master's degree, which originally meant that 
none but the Masters of Lodges could be exalted to 
the Royal Arch, as the degree was considered too im- 
portant to be bestowed on all Master Masons indis- 
criminately, it was found necessary when Chapters 

* Report on Masonic Jurisprudence to the Grand Lodge of Arkansas. 

t Nor can I readily understand how a Chapter Past Master can consent, 
as such, to sit in a Past Master's Lodge with Past Masters who have net 
received the Marls degree. 



264 OF PAST MASTEES. 

were organized independently of symbolic Lodges 
to introduce the degree, as a preparatory step to the 
exaltation of their candidates to the Royal Arch. 

Hence arose the singular anomaly, which now ex- 
ists in modern Masonry, of two degrees bearing the 
same name and identical in character, but which are 
conferred by two different bodies, under distinct 
jurisdictions and for totally different purposes. The 
Past Master's degree is conferred in a symbolic 
Lodge as an honorarium upon a newly-elected Mas- 
ter, and as a part of the installation ceremony. In 
a Chapter, it is conferred as a preparatory qualifi- 
cation to the reception of the Royal Arch degree. 
All this was well understood at the beginning, and 
is not now denied by any who have made researches 
into the subject. Still, as the details of this history 
became, by the lapse of time, less generally known, 
disputes began to arise between the two parties as 
to the vexatious questions of legitimacy and juris- 
diction. In these controversies, the virtual or Chap- 
ter Past Masters, denied the right of the symbolic 
Lodges to confer, and the actual or installed Past 
Masters rightly contended that the conferring of the 
degree in Chapters is an innovation. 

It must be evident, then, from what has been said, 
that the Chapter degree has nothing, and can have 
nothing, to do with the same degree as conferred in 
a Lodge ; and that Chapter Past Masters neither 
have the right to install the Masters elect of sym- 
bolic Lodges, nor to be present when, in the course 
of installation, the degree is conferred. 



OHAPTEE Y. 
©f mnxiiiliatelf l&asctis. 

An unaffiliated Mason is one who does not hold 
membership in any Lodge.* Such a class of Masons, 
if amounting to any great number, is discreditable 
to the Order, because their existence is a pregnant 
evidence that care has not been taken in the selec- 
tion of members ; and accordingly, for some years 
past, the Grand Lodges of this country have been 
denouncing them'in the strongest terms of condem- 
nation, at the same time that able discussions have 
been carried on as to the most eligible method of 
checking the evil. 

The Special Committee on Jurisprudence of the 
Grand Lodge of Virginia said, in 1856, with great 
truth, that " it cannot be concealed that this class 
of drones in the hive of Masonry, now numbered by 



* The word is derived from the French word affilier, which Richelet thus 
defines : " Donner a quelqu'un participation des biens spirituels d'un Ordre 
religieux : cette communication se ncrmme affiliation? That is : " To 
communicate to any one a participation in the spiritual benefits of a re- 
ligious order : such a communication is called an affiliation? — Richelet, 
DicLde la Langue Francoise. The word is found in none of Hie older 
Masonic books. 

12 



266 OF UNAFFILIATED MASONS. 

thousands in America, are exerting a very unwhole- 
some influence on the position which our time- 
honored institution is entitled to hold before the 
world."* 

It is important, therefore, that we should inquire 
into the prerogatives of this class, and into the na- 
ture of the relations which exist between them and 
the body from which they have withdrawn. 

In the first place, it may be stated, that there is 
no precept more explicitly expressed in the ancient 
Constitutions than that every Mason should belong 
to a Lodge. The foundation of the law which im- 
poses this duty is to be traced as far back as the 
Gothic Constitutions of 926, which tell us that " the 
workman shall labor diligently on work-days, that 
he may deserve his holidays. "f The obligation that 
every Mason should thus labor is implied in all the 
subsequent Constitutions, which always speak of Ma- 
sons as toorking members of the fraternity, until we 
come to the Charges approved in 1722, which expli- 
citly state that " every Brother ought to belong to 
a Lodge, and to be subject to its By-Laws and the 
General Regulations."! 

Explicitly, however, as the law has been an- 
nounced, it has not, in modern times, been observed 
with that fidelity which should have been expected, 
perhaps, because no precise penalty was annexed to 
its violation. The word " ought" has given to the 

* Report of Special Committee on Masonic Jurisprudence to the Grand 
Lodge of Virginia, 1855, p. 3. 
t See ante p. 45. % See ante p. 56. 



OF UNAFFILIATED MASONS. 267 

regulation a simply declaratory form ; and although 
we are still compelled to conclude that its violation 
is a neglect of Masonic duty, and therefore punish- 
able by a Masonic tribunal, Masonic jurists have 
been at a loss to agree upon the nature and extent 
of the punishment that should be inflicted. 

The Grand Lodge of Georgia prohibits Master 
Masons who remain unaffiliated more than twelve 
months from visiting other Lodges, or receiving 
any of the privileges or benefits of Masonry. 

Maryland deprives them of the right of visit. 

Mississippi divests unaffiliated Masons of all the 
rights and privileges of the Order — those, namely, 
of visiting Lodges, demanding charitable aid, re- 
ceiving Masonic burial, or joining in Masonic pro- 
cessions. 

Iowa directs them to be tried and suspended if 
they give no valid excuse for their non-affiliation. 

South Carolina withholds Masonic aid, and denies 
to them the right of visit, except once, to every 
Lodge. 

Vermont deprives them of " all the rights, bene- 
fits, and privileges of the Lodges," but makes a res- 
ervation in favor of poor brethren who cannot afford 
to pay Lodge dues. 

Virginia declares them to be not entitled to the 
benefits of Masonry. 

"Wisconsin refuses to grant relief to them, unless 
they can assign good reasons for non-affiliation. 

Alabama deprives them of Masonic relief and 
burial. 



Jb5 OF UNAFFILIATED MASutfS. 

New York forbids them to visit more than twice, 
withholds relief and Masonic burial, and deprives 
them of the right of joining in processions. 

California orders its Lodges to try them, and de- 
clares them unworthy of Masonic charity. 

Indiana forbids them to join in processions, and 
deprives them of the rights of relief, visit, and 
burial. 

North Carolina directs them to be taxed. The 
same principle of taxation has at various times 
oeen adopted by Texas, Ohio, Arkansas, and Mis- 
souri. 

Minnesota declares it an offence to admit an unaf- 
filiated Mason, as a visitor, more than three times, 
and denies them the right of Masonic relief, burial, 
and joining in processions. 

In short, while the penalty inflicted for non-affili- 
ation has varied in different jurisdictions, I know 
of no Grand Lodge that has not concurred in the 
view that it is a Masonic offence, to be visited by 
some penalty, or the deprivation of some rights. 

And certainly, as it is an undoubted precept of 
our Order, that every Mason should belong to a 
Lodge, and contribute, as far as his means will 
allow, to the support of the institution ; and as, by 
his continuance in a state of non-affiliation, he vio- 
lates this precept, and disobeys the law which he 
had promised to support, it necessarily follows that 
an unaffiliated Mason is placed in a very different 
position, morally and legally, from that occupied by 
an affiliated one. Let us now inquire into the na- 



OF UNAFFILIATED MASONS. 269 

ture of that new position, and its legal effects 
But I must premise, for the better understanding 
of the views that will be announced on this subject, 
that every Mason is placed, by the nature of the 
Masonic organization, in a two-fold relation : first, 
to the Order ; and next, to his Lodge. 

The relation of a Mason to the Order is like that 
of a child to its parent — a relation which, having 
once been established, never can be obliterated. As 
no change of time, place, or circumstance can au- 
thorize the child to divest himself of that tie which 
exists between himself and the author of his exist- 
ence — a tie which only death can sever — so nothing 
can cancel the relationship between every Mason and 
his Order, except expulsion, which is recognized as 
equivalent to Masonic death. Hence results the 
well-known maxim of, " Once a Mason and always a 
Mason." It follows, therefore, that an unaffiliated 
Mason is not divested, and cannot divest himself, oi 
all his Masonic responsibilities to the fraternity in 
general, nor does he forfeit by such non-affiliation 
the correlative duties of the craft to him which arise 
out of his general relation to the Order. He is 
still bound by certain obligations, which cannot be 
canceled by any human authority ; and by similar 
obligations every Mason is bound to him. These 
obligations refer to the duties of secrecy and of aid 
in the hour of imminent peril. No one denies the 
perpetual existence of the first ; and the very lan- 
guage — giving no room for any exceptions in its 
phraseology — in which the latter is couched, leaves 



270 OF UNAFFILIATED MASONS. 

no opportunity for reservation as to affiliated Masons 
only. 

Bro. Albert Pike, in his report to the Grand 
Lodge of Arkansas, while discussing this subject, 
says : " If a person appeals to us as a Mason in im- 
minent peril, or such pressing need that we have 
not time to inquire into his worthiness, then, lest we 
might refuse to relieve and aid a worthy Brother, we 
must not stop to inquire as to anything. 77 * But I 
confess that I am not satisfied with this argument, 
which does not take the highest view of the princi- 
ple. We are to give aid in imminent peril when 
Masonically called upon, not lest injustice may be 
done if we pause to inquire into the question of af- 
filiation, but because the obligation to give this aid, 
which is reciprocal among all Masons, never has 
been, and never can be, canceled. 

It may be said that in this way an expelled Mason 
may also receive aid. I reply, that if I do not 
know his position, of course I am not to stop and 
inquire. Here the reasoning of Bro. Pike holds 
good. In imminent peril we have no time to in- 
quire into the question of worthiness. But- if" I 
know him to be an expelled Mason, I am not bound 
to heed his call, for an expelled Mason is legally a 
dead Mason, or no Mason at all. But an unaffili- 



* Report of Corn, of For. Corresp. G. L. of Ark., 1854, p. 116. Let me 
add here, that this document is one of the most valuable treatises on Ma- 
sonic jurisprudence that has ever been published, and ought to be in the 
library of every Mason. It bears throughout the impress of the acoom 
plished author's profundity and originality of thought. . 



OF UNAFFILIATED MASONS. 271 

ated Mason, is not in that position, and this makes 
all the difference. The only way to cut the gor- 
dian knot of these difficulties is for Grand Lodges 
to expel all unaffiliated Masons who can give no 
sufficient excuse for their non-affiliation. There is no 
legal objection to this course, provided a due course 
of trial, in each case, is pursued. Then, and then 
only, will unaffiliated Masons become in the legal 
sense unworthy ; and then, and then only, will they 
lose all the Masonic rights which they had origin- 
ally possessed by their relations to the Order. 

The relation which a Mason bears to his Lodge is 
of a different nature from that which connects him 
with the Order. It is in some degree similar to 
that political relation which jurists have called 
" local allegiance," or the allegiance which a man 
gives to the country or the sovereign in whose ter- 
ritories and under whose protection he resides. 
This allegiance is founded on the doctrine that 
where there is protection there should be subjec- 
tion, and that subjection should in turn receive pro- 
tection.* It may be permanent or temporary. A 
removal from the territory cancels the allegiance, 
which will again be contracted towards the sove- 
reign of the new domicil to which the individual 
may have removed. Now this is precisely the rela- 
tion which exists between a Mason and his Lodge. 
The Lodge grants him its protection ; that is, from 
his membership in it he derives his rights of visit, 

* The maxim of the law isi '' Protectio trahit subjectionem et subjectia 
protectkmem.'' 



272 OF UNAFFILIATED MASONS. 

of relief, of burial, and all the other prerogatives 
which inure, by custom or law, to the active mem- 
bers of Lodges, and which are actually the results 
of membership. In return for this, he gives it his 
allegiance ; he acknowledges obedience to its By- 
Laws, and he contributes to its revenues by his an- 
nual or quarterly dues. But he may at any time 
dissolve this allegiance to any particular Lodge, and 
contract it with another. As the denizen of a coun- 
try cancels his allegiance by abandoning its protec- 
tion and removing to another territory, the Mason 
may withdraw his relations to one Lodge and unite 
with another. But he still continues an affiliated 
Mason, only his affiliation is with another body. 

But the denizen who removes from one country 
may not, by subsequent residence, give his allegiance 
to another. He may become a cosmopolite, bear- 
ing local allegiance to no particular sovereign. All 
that follows from this is, that he acquires no right 
of protection ; for, if he gives no subjection, he can 
ask for no protection. 

Now this is precisely the case with an unaffiliated 
Mason. Having taken his demit from one Lodge, 
he has of course lost its protection ; and, having 
united with no other, he can claim protection from 
none. He has forfeited all those rights which are 
derived from membership. He has dissevered all 
connection between himself and the Lodge organiza- 
tion of the Order, and by this act has divested him- 
self of all the prerogatives which belonged to him 
as a member of that organization. Among these 



OF UNAFFILIATED MASONS. 273 

are the right of visit, of pecuniary aid, and of Ma- 
sonic burial. When he seeks to enter the door of a 
Lodge it must be closed upon him, for the right to 
visit belongs only to affiliated Masons. Whenever 
he seeks for Lodge assistance, he is to be refused, 
because the funds of the Lodge are not to be dis- 
tributed among those who refuse to aid, by their 
individual contributions, in the formation of similar' 
funds in other Lodges. Nor can he expect to be 
accompanied to his last resting-place by his breth- 
ren ; for it is a settled law, that no Mason can be 
buried with the ceremonies of the Order, except 
upon his express request, previously made to the 
Master of the Lodge of which he is a member. 

We see, theu, that there is a wide difference in 
the result of non-affiliation, on the relations which 
exist between a Mason and the Order generally, and 
those which exist between him and the Lodges of the 
Order. With the latter all connection is severed, 
but nothing can cancel his relations with the former 
except Masonic death ; that is to say, expulsion. 
When the question between two Masons is in refer- 
ence to any mutual duties which result from mem- 
bership in a Lodge — as, for instance, when it is a 
question of the right of visit — then it is proper to 
inquire into the matter of affiliation, because that 
affects these duties : but when it is in reference to 
any duties or obligations which might be claimed 
even if Lodge organization did not exist — such, for 
instance, as assistance in imminent peril — then there 
can be no inquiry made into the subject of affiliation j 

12" 



274 OF UNAFFILIATED MASONS. 

for affiliation or non-affiliation has no relation to 
these duties. 

But it has been said that non-affiliation is a Masonic 
offence, and that he who is guilty of it is an unworthy 
Mason, and as such divested of all his rights. It is 
admitted, most freely, that non-affiliation is a viola- 
tion of positive Masonic law ; but it does not follow 
that, in the technical sense in which alone the word 
has any Masonic legal meaning, an unaffiliated Ma- 
son is an unworthy Mason. He can only be made 
so by the declaration, in his particular case, of a le- 
gally 'constituted Lodge, after due trial and convic- 
tion. But this question is so well argued by the 
Committee on Jurisprudence of the Grand Lodge 
of Yirginia, that I do not hesitate to cite their lan- 



" All who have spoken or written upon the subject, pro- 
claim him [the unaffiliated Mason] an unworthy Mason ; but 
they, and ten times their number, do not make him so, in 
their individual relation, for the obvious reason that he can- 
not, individually, absolve himself from such duties as he 
owes to the institution; so the fraternity, acting in their 
individual capacity, cannot absolve themselves from their 
duties to him ; and as it is only by a just and legal Lodge, 
acting in its chartered capacity, and under the injunctions 
of the Constitutions of Masonry and By-Laws of Grand 
Lodges, that he can be invested with the rights and benefits 
of Masonry, and pronounced worthy; so it is only by the 
same power, acting in the same character, and under the 
same restrictions, that he can be disfranchised of these 
rights and benefits, and pronounced unworthy.'* 

f Report, p. 11. 



OF UNAFFILIATED MASONS. 275 

It seems to me, in conclusion, that it will be 
safe to lay down the following principles, as sup- 
ported by the law on the subject of unaffiliated 
Masons : 

1. An unaffiliated Mason is still bound by all 
those Masonic duties and obligations which refer to 
the Order in general, but not by those which relate 
to Lodge organization. 

2. He possesses, reciprocally, all those rights 
which are derived from membership in the Order, 
but none of those which result from membership in 
a Lodge. 

3. He has a right to assistance when in imminent 
peril, if he asks for that assistance ip. the conven- 
tional way. 

4. He has no right to pecuniary aid from a 
Lodge. 

5. He has no right to visit Lodges, or to walk in 
Masonic processions. 

6. He has no right to Masonic burial. 

7. He still remains subject to the government of 
the Order, and may be tried and punished for any 
offence, by the Lodge within whose geographical 
jurisdiction he resides. 

8. And, lastly, as non-affiliation is a violation of 
Masonic law, he may, if he refuses to abandon that 
condition, be tried and punished for it, even by ex- 
pulsion, if deemed necessary or expedient, by any 
Grand Lodge within whose jurisdiction he lives. 



BOOK IV. 



Ikfn relating h &oogps< 



Having treated of the law in relation to Masons in their 
individual capacity, I next come to the consideration of those 
bodies which result from the congregation of Masons into 
corporate societies. The primary organization of this kind 
is the Lodge, and therefore, in the Fourth Book, I shall dis« 
cuss the nature and prerogatives of these Lodges. 



CHAPTER 1, 
&i)c Nature of a 3Letr£e, 



* 



The Old Charges of 1722 define a Lodge to be 
" a place where Masons assemble and work ;" and 
the definition is still further extended by describing 
it as " an assembly or duly organized society of Ma- 
sons." This organization was originally very sim- 
ple in its character ; for, previous to the year 1717, 
a sufficient number of Masons could meet, open a 
Lodge, and make Masons, with the consent of the 
sheriff or chief magistrate of the place.* But in 
1717 a regulation was adopted, which declared 
" that the privilege of assembling as Masons should 
no longer be unlimited, but that it should be vested 
in certain Lodges convened in certain places, and 
legally authorized by the Warrant of the Grand 

* " The mode of applying by petition to the Grand Master, for a Warrant 
to meet as a regular Lodge, commenced only in the year 1718 ; previous to 
which time, Lodges were empowered, by inherent privileges vested in the 
fraternity at large, to meet and act occasionally, under the direction of some 
able Architect, and the acting magistrate of the county ; and the proceed- 
ings of those meetings being approved by the majority of the brethren con- 
vened at another Lodge assembled in the same district, were deemed con- 
stitutional."— Preston, Ol. ed., p. 66, note. 



280 NATURE OF A LODGE. 

Master and the consent of the Grand Lodge. So 
that the modern definition contained in the lecture 
of the first degree is more applicable now than it 
would have been before the eighteenth century. 
This definition describes a Lodge as " an assem- 
blage of Masons, duly congregated, having the 
Holy Bible, square and compasses, and a Charter 
or Warrant of Constitution empowering them to 
work." 

The ritual constantly speaks of Lodges as being 
"just and legally constituted." These two terms 
refer to two entirely distinct elements in the organi- 
zation of a Lodge. It is "just "* when it consists 
of the requisite number of members to transact the 
business or perform the labors of the degree in 
which it is opened, and is supplied, with the neces- 
sary furniture of a Bible, square and compasses. 
It is " legally constituted " when it is opened under 
constitutional authority. Each of these ingredients 
is necessary in the organization of a Lodge. Its 
justness is a subject, however, that is entirely regu- 
lated by the ritual. Its legality alone is to be con- 
sidered in the present work. 

Every Lodge, at the present day, requires for its 
proper organization as a " legally constituted " 
body, that it should have been congregated by the 
permission of some superior authority, which au 
thority may emanate either from a Grand Master 
or a Grand Lodge. When organized by the for- 

* The word just is here taken in the old sense of " complete in all it* 
parts." 



LODGES UNDER DISPENSATION. 281 

iner, it is said to be a Lodge under Dispensation ; 
when by the latter, it is called a Warranted Lodge. 
These two distinctions in the nature of Lodge or- 
ganization will therefore give rise to separate inqui- 
ries : first, into the character of Lodges working 
under a Dispensation ; and secondly, into that of 
Lodges working under a Warrant of Constitution. 



SECTION I. 

THE ORGANIZATION OF LODGES UNDER DISPENSATION. 

When seven Master Masons, at least, are desirous 
of organizing a Lodge, they apply by petition to the 
Grand Master of the jurisdiction for the necessary 
authority. This petition must set forth that they 
now are, or have been, members of a legally consti- 
tuted Lodge, and must assign a satisfactory reason 
for their application. It must also be recommended 
by the nearest Lodge, and must designate the place 
where the Lodge is intended to be held, and the 
names of the persons whom the petitioners desire 
to be appointed as Master and Wardens. 

Seven things must therefore concur to give regu- 
larity to the form of a petition for a Dispensation. 
1. There must be seven signers at least. 2. They 
must all be Master Masons. 3. They must be in 
good standing. 4. There must be a good reason 
for the organization of a Lodge at that time and 
place. 5. The place of meeting must be designa- 
ted. 6. The names of the three officers must be 



282 ORGANIZATION OF 

stated. 7. It m ast be recommended by the nearest 
Lodge. 

Dalcho, contrary to all the other authorities ex- 
cept the Grand Lodge of Ireland, says that not less 
than three Master Masons should. sign the petition.* 
The rule, however, requiring seven signers, which, 
with these exceptions, is, I think, universal, seems 
to be founded in reason ; for, as not less than seven 
Masons can, by the ritualistic Landmark, open and 
hold a Lodge of Entered Apprentices, the prelimi- 
nary degree in which all Lodges have to work, it 
would necessarily be absurd to authorize a smaller 
number to organize a Lodge, which, after its organi- 
zation, could not hold meetings nor initiate candi- 
dates in that degree. 

The Old Constitutions are necessarily silent upon 
this subject, since, at the time of their adoption, 
permanent Lodge organizations were unknown. But 
it is singular that no rule should have been incor- 
porated into the Regulations of 1721, which were 
of course adopted after the establishment of per- 
manent Lodges. t It is therefore to Preston that 

* Dalcho , Ahiman Rezon, ed. 1822 , p. 102. The Regulation of the Grand 
Lodge of Ireland, both as to the number of signers and of recommenders. 
is precisely the same as Dalcho's. The regulation has not been in force in 
South Carolina, within my recollection, and seven signers are required in 
that as in other jurisdictions. 

f Dermott, who, however irregular, was his authority, gives us, very 
often, an accurate idea of what was the general condition of Masonic law 
at bis time, says nothing about the number of petitioners in his Ahiman 
Rezon, but in his letter to the Master of a Lodge in Philadelphia he says 
that the Dispensation must be granted to one Master Mason, who calls 
others to his assistance. 



LODGES UNDER DISPENSATION. 283 

we are indebted for the explicit announcement of 
the law, that the petition must be signed by not 
less than seven Masons. 

Preston says that the petition must be recom- 
mended " by the Masters of three regular Lodges 
adjacent to the place where the new Lodge is to be 
held. 7 ' This is also the precise language of the 
Constitution of the Grand Lodge of Ireland. The 
Grand Lodge of Scotland requires the recommenda- 
tion to be signed " by the Masters and Officers of two 
of the nearest Lodges." The modern Constitution 
of the Grand Lodge of England requires a recom- 
mendation "by the officers of some regular Lodge/' 7 
without saying anything of its vicinity to the new 
Lodge. The rule now universally adopted is, that 
it must be recommended by the nearest Lodge ; and 
it is an excellent one, too, for it certifies to the su- 
perior authority, on the very best evidence that can 
be obtained — that, namely, of a constituted Masonic 
body, which has the opportunity of knowing the 
fact that the new Lodge will be productive, neither 
in its officers nor its locality, of an injury to the 
Order. 

But as, unfortunately, the recommending Lodges 
are not always particular in inquiring into the quali- 
fications of the officers of the new Lodge who have 
been nominated to the Grand Master, and hence 
Lodges have been created in advantageous situa- 
tions which yet, from the ignorance of those who 
presided over them, have been of serious detri- 
ment to the craft, the Grand Lodges are beginning 



284 ORGANIZATION OF 

now to look for something more than a mere formal 
recommendation which only certifies to the moral 
character of the applicants. As a Lodge may be 
considered as a Masonic academy, it is certainly 
desirable that its teachers should be competent to 
discharge the duties of instruction which they have 
undertaken. Hence, in 1858, the Grand Lodge of 
Florida adopted a resolution which declared " that 
no Dispensation or Charter shall be granted to any 
set of Masons, unless the Master and Wardens 
named in the application be first examined as to 
their proficiency in three degrees by the Master and 
Wardens, or Lodge recommending them, and that 
said examination shall not be considered suffi- 
cient unless the entire ceremony of opening and 
closing the Lodge, with all the Lectures of each de- 
gree, are fully and completely exhibited in open 
Lodge, and such satisfactory examination be en- 
dorsed on the application." 

The correctness — the indispensable necessity of 
such a regulation — commends itself to every one 
whose experience has made him acquainted with 
the fact, that Lodges are too often organized, with 
officers altogether unacquainted with the most ru- 
dimentary instructions of Masonry ; and a carica- 
ture of the institution is thus often presented, alike 
derogatory to its dignity and usefulness, and hu- 
miliating to its better informed friends. No dis- 
pensation, in my opinion, should ever be granted, 
until the Lodge asking for it had given convincing 
proofs that the institution of Masonry would in its 



LODGES UNDER DISPENSATION. 285 

hands be elevated, and justice would be fairly done 
to all the candidates whom it should admit. I do 
not ask that all Lodges should be equally learned, 
but I do require that none should be deplorably ig- 
norant. Still, excepting in jurisdictions which may 
have wisely adopted this regulation, the old law 
remains in force, which only requires a simple 
recommendation as to moral character and Masonic 
standing. 

If this recommendation be allowed, the Grand 
Secretary makes ready a document called a Dispen- 
sation, which gives power to the officers named in 
the petition to hold a Lodge, open and close it, and 
to '" enter, pass, and raise Freemasons." 

The length of time of this dispensation is gen- 
erally understood, and expressed on its face to be, 
" until it shall be revoked by the Grand Master or 
the Grand Lodge, or until a Warrant of Constitu- 
tion is granted by the Grand Lodge." Preston ob- 
serves, that the brethren named in it are vested 
with power " to assemble as Masons for forty days, 
and until such time as a Warrant of Constitution 
can be obtained by command of the Grand Lodge, 
or that authority "be recalled. 1 ' Usage, however, as 
a general thing, allows the dispensation to con- 
tinue until the next meeting of the Grand Lodge, 
when it is either annulled or a warrant of consti- 
tution granted. 

Either the Grand Master or the Grand Lodge 
has the power to revoke the dispensation ; and in 
such a case, the Lodge of course at once ceases to 



286 ORGANIZATION OF 

exist. As in the case of all extinct Lodges, what- 
ever funds or property it has accumulated will 
pass to the Grand Lodge, which may be called the 
natural heir of its subordinates ; but all the work 
done in the Lodge, under the dispensation., is regu- 
lar and legal, and all the Masons made by it are, in 
every sense of the term, " true and lawful brethren." 



SECTION II 

ORGANIZATION OF WARRANTED LODGES. 

In the last section I described the organization 
of a Lodge under dispensation, and it was shown 
that such an organization might be canceled by 
the revocation of the dispensation by either the 
Grand Master or the Grand Lodge, in which event 
the Lodge would cease to exist ; but a Lodge under 
dispensation may terminate its existence in a more 
favorable way, by being changed into a Lodge 
working under a warrant of constitution. The 
mode in which this change is to be effected 
will be the subject of consideration in the present 
section. 

At the communication of the Grand Lodge, which 
takes place next after the granting of the dispensa- 
tion by the Grand Master, that officer states the 
fact to the Grand Lodge, of his having granted 
such an authority, when a vote being taken on the 
question whether the dispensation shall or shall not 
be continued, if a majority are in favor of the con- 



WARRANTED LODGES. 287 

firmation, the Grand Secretary is directed to issue 
a warrant of constitution. 

This instrument differs from a dispensation in 
many important particulars. A dispensation ema- 
nates from a Grand Master ; a warrant from a 
Grand Lodge. The one is temporary and definite 
in its duration ; the other permanent and indefinite. 
The one is revocable at pleasure by the Grand 
Master ; the other, only upon cause shown by the 
Grand Lodge. The one confers only a name ; the 
other, a number upon the Lodge. The one restricts 
the authority that it bestows to the making of 
Masons ; the other extends that authority to the 
installation of officers and the succession in office. 
The one contains within itself no power of self-per- 
petuation ; the other does. From these differences 
in the two documents arise important peculiarities 
in the prerogatives of the two bodies which are re- 
spectively organized under their authority, which 
peculiarities will constitute the subject matter of 
the succeeding chapter. 

The Lodge to which the warrant has been granted 
is still, however, only an inchoate Lodge. To per- 
fect its character, and to entitle it to all the prero- 
gatives of a warranted Lodge, certain forms and 
ceremonies have to be observed. These ceremonies 
are, according to the ritual, as follows, and in the 
following order :* 

* As the forms of consecration, &c, are altogether ritualistic in their 
character, I have, for the most part, followed the authority of Webb, whose 
work has for more than half a century been recognized as a Text-book bj 



288 organization op 

1. Consecration. 

2. Dedication. 

3. Constitution. 

4. Installation. 

Before proceeding to the consideration of each 
of these ceremonies, it is necessary to remark that 
they should all be performed by the Grand Master 
in person, or, if he is unable to attend, by some 
Past Master, who acts for him by a special warrant 
of proxy. 

1. The Consecration.- — The ceremony of conse- 
crating religious edifices to the sacred purposes for 
which they are intended, by mystic rites, has been 
transmitted to us from the remotest antiquity. 
" History/' says Dudley, " both ancient and modern, 
tells us that extraordinary rites, called rites of con- 
secration or dedication, have been performed by 
people of all ages and nations, on the occasion of 
the first application of altars or temples, or places, 
to religious uses."* Thus, Moses consecrated the 
tabernacle,f Solomon the first temple, { and the re- 
turned exiles from Babylon the second. § Among 

the Grand Lodges of the United States, and whose opinion on all questions 
of ceremony is entitled to great deference, as he is admitted to have been 
the founder of the American system of lectures. The form of constituting 
Lodges, which was practised by the Duke of Wharton, in the beginning of the 
last century, and which is described in the first edition of Anderson, page 
71, is much simpler, but it has long been disused in this country. Preston's 
ritual, also, which varies from that of Webb, and does not include the cere 
mony of dedication, has also been abandoned. 
* Naology, p. 513. f Exod. 3d. Numb. vii. % I Kings, viii. 

§ Ezra, vi. 16, 17. 



WARRANTED LODGES. 289 

the Pagans, ceremonies of the most magnificent na- 
ture were often used in setting apart their gorgeous 
temples to the purposes of worship. A Masonic 
Lodge is, in imitation of these ancient examples, 
consecrated with mystic ceremonies to the sacred 
purposes for which it had been constructed. By 
this act it is set apart for a holy object, the cultiva- 
tion of the great tenets of a Mason's profession, and 
becomes, or should become, in the mind of the con- 
scientious Mason, invested with a peculiar reverence 
as a place where, as he passes over its threshold, he 
should feel the application of the command given to 
Moses : " Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for 
the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." 

On this occasion a box is to be used as the symbol 
of the Lodge. It is placed in the centre of the 
room, and is a representation of the ark of the cove- 
nant, which was deposited in the Holy of Holies of 
the ancient temple.* 

In the course of the ceremonies, this Lodge is 
sprinkled with corn, wine and oil, which are the 
Masonic elements of Consecration. These elements 
are technically called " the corn of nourishment, the 
wine of refreshment, and the oil of joy, 77 and are to 
the Mason symbolic of the many gifts and blessings 

* It is a great error on the part of some Masons to suppose that the ark 
of the covenant is a symbol peculiarly appropriate to Royal Arch Masonry. 
On the contrary, the true ark is to be found only in Ancient Craft Masonry, 
whose foundation is the old temple, and it has always constituted a part of 
the coat of arms of the institution. The ark used in Royal Arch Masonry is 
simply a representation of the imitative ark which was substituted for the 
original one in the second temple. The Royal Arch degree has nothing tc 
do with the true or Mosaic ark of the covenant. 

13 



290 ORGANIZATION OP 

for which we are indebted to the bounty of the 
G. A. 0. T. U.; for the first is emblematic, in Ma- 
sonic symbolism, of health, the second of plenty, 
and the third of peace. 

The ancient altars were thus consecrated by the 
offering of barley cakes and libations of wine and 
oil, and the Jewish ritual gives ample directions for 
a similar ceremony. The rite of Masonic consecra- 
tion is accompanied by a prayer, in which the 
Lodge is solemnly consecrated " to the honor of 
God's glory." 

2. The Dedication. — The ceremony of dedicating 
the Lodge immediately follows that of its consecra- 
tion. This, too, is a very ancient ceremony, and 
finds its prototype in the religious services of anti- 
quity. Every temple among the Pagans was dedi- 
cated to some particular deity, oftentimes to the 
conjoint worship of several, while the Jews dedi- 
cated their religious edifices to the one supreme 
Jehovah. Thus David dedicated with solemn cere- 
monies the altar which he erected on the threshing 
floor of Oman, the Jebusite, after the cessation of 
the plague which had afflicted his people ; and Cal- 
met conjectured that he composed the thirtieth 
psalm on this occasion. The Jews extended this 
ceremony of dedication even to their private houses, 
and Clarke tells us, in reference to a passage on 
this subject in the book of Deuteronomy, that " it 
was a custom in Israel to dedicate a new house to 
God with prayer, praise and thanksgiving • and 
this was done in order to secure the divine presence 



WARRANTED LODGES. 2yl 

and blessing ; for no pious or sensible man could 
imagine he could dwell safely in a bouse that was 
not under the immediate protection of God." * 

According to the learned Selclen, there was a dis- 
tinction among the Jews between consecration and 
dedication, for sacred things were both consecrated 
and dedicated, while profane things, such as private 
dwelling-houses, were only dedicated. Dedication 
was, therefore, a less sacred ceremony than conse- 
cration, f This distinction has also been preserved 
among Christians; many of whom, and in the early 
ages all, consecrated their churches to the worship 
of God, but dedicated them to, or placed them under 
the especial patronage of some particular Saint. 
A similar practice prevails in the Masonic institu- 
tion, and therefore, while we consecrate our Lodges, 
as has just been seen, " to the honor of God's glory," 
we dedicate them to the patrons of our order.J 

* Commentary on Dent. xx. 5: " What man is there that hath built a new 
house, and hath not dedicated it? Let him go and return unto his house, Jest 
he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it." 

fGiLBERTUS, Bishop of Lucca, in his treatise, "De Usu Ecclesiastieo," 
quoted by Du Cange, makes a similar distinction. He says that the priest 
consecrates the temple and the altar; but the bishop dedicates the ecclesias- 
tical utensils which are used only by the priesthood, such as the saoerdotal 
and pontifical vestments, the chalice, &c. Those things only, he adds, are 
consecrated which are separated from common use for divine worship. 

% As some over-scrupulous brethren have been known to object to the 
dedication of our Lodges to the Saints John, as savoring, in their opinion, of 
superstition, it may be profitable to read the remarks of " the judicious 
Hooker" on the similar custom of dedicating Christian churches: " Touch- 
ing the names of angels and saints, whereby most of our churches are called, 
as the custom of so naming them is very ancient, so neither was the cause 
of it at first, nor is the use and continuance of it at this present, hurtful. 
That churches were consecrated to none but the Lord only, the very general 



292 ORGANIZATION OF 

Tradition informs us that Masonic Lodges were 
originally dedicated to King Solomon, because lie 
was our first Most Excellent Grand Master. In the 
sixteenth century, if we may judge from expressions 
used in the celebrated Charter of Cologne, St. 
John the Baptist seems to have been considered as 
the peculiar patron of Freemasonry ; but subse- 
quently this honor was divided between, the two 
Saints John, the Baptist and the Evangelist, and 
modern Lodges, in this country at least, are uni- 
versally erected or consecrated to God, and dedicated 
to the Holy Saints John* I am therefore surprised 
to find the formula in Webb, which dedicates the 
Lodge " to the memory of the Holy Saint John." 
I cannot but deem it an inadvertence on the part of 
this Masonic lecturer, since in all his oral teachings 
he adhered to the more general system, and de- 
scribed a Masonic Lodge in his esoteric work as 
being " dedicated to the Holy Saints John." This, 
at all events, is now the universal practice, and the 
language used by Webb becomes contradictory and 
absurd when compared with the fact that the festi- 

name itself doth sufficiently show : inasmuch as by plain grammatical con- 
struction, church doth signify no other thing than the Lord's house. And 
because the multitude of persons, so of things particular, causeth variety of 
proper names to be devised for distinction's sake, founders of churches did 
that which best liked their own conceit at the present time, yet each intend- 
ing that as oft as those buildings came to be mentioned, the name should 
seem in mind of some memorable person or thing." — EcclesiasL, Pol. 
J5.V.13. 

* At the union, in 1813, the Grand Lodge of England changed the dedi- 
cation from the two Saints John to Solomon and Moses. But this unwar. 
rantable innovation has never been acknowledged in America nor elsewheri 
out of the English jurisdiction— not always indeed by the Lodges in it. 



WARRANTED LODGES. 293 

vals of both, saints are equally celebrated by the 
Order, and that the 27th of December is not less a 
day of observance in the Order than the 24th of 
June.''" 

The ceremony of dedication is merely the enun- 
ciation of a form of words, and this having been 
done, the Lodge is thus, by the consecration and 
dedication, set apart as something sacred to the 
cultivation of the principles of Masonry, under that 
peculiar system which acknowludges the two Saints 
John as its patrons. 

3. The Constitution. — The consecration and dedi- 
cation may be considered as the religious formula- 
ries which give a sacred character to the Lodge, 
and by which it is to be distinguished from a pro- 
fane association, intended only for the cultivation 
of good fellowship. The ceremony of constitution 
which immediately follows, is of a legal character. 
-It is intended to give legality to the Lodge, and 
constitutional authority to all its acts. It is of 
course dependent on the preceding ceremonies ; for 
no Lodge can be rightfully constituted until it has 
been consecrated and dedicated. The two prelimi- 
nary ceremonies refer to the place, the last to the 
persons assembled. The Lodge is consecrated and 
dedicated as a place wherein the science of Free- 
masonry is to be cultivated. The members then 

* The formula of dedication used in the Book of Constitutions of the Grand 
Lodge of South Carolina corrects the phraseology of Webb in this respect, 
and is therefore, I think, to be preferred : " To the memory of the Uolj 
Saints John we dedicate this Lodge. May every brother revere their charac 
ter and imitate then- virtues." 



294 ORGANIZATION OF 

present and their successors are authorized to culti- 
vate that science in the legal and acknowledged 
mode. The ceremony of constitution is a simple 
one, and consists merely in the enunciation of the 
fact by the Grand Master, or his special proxy under 
his authority, and as the organ of the Grand Lodge, 
which body alone can give this legal character to 
an assembly of Masons. In England, Grand Mas 
ters have the power of granting warrants of consti- 
tution ; and hence in Preston's formula the Lodge is 
constituted by that officer in his own name and 
character, but in America the power of constituting 
Lodges is taken from him, and vested solely in 
Grand Lodges, and hence the formula adopted by 
Webb expresses that fact, and the Grand Master 
constitutes the Lodge " in the name of the Most 
Worshipful Grand Lodge." By this ceremony the 
Lodge is taken out of its inchoate and temporary 
condition as a Lodge under dispensation, and is 
placed among the permanent and registered Lodges 
of the jurisdiction. 

4. The Installation. — The Lodge having been 
thus consecrated to the uses of Masonry, and dedi- 
cated to the patrons of the Order, and its members 
constituted into a legal Masonic organization, it is 
now necessary that the officers chosen should be duly 
invested with the power to exercise the functions 
which have been confided to them. The ceremony 
by which this investiture is made is called the 
installation. 

The custom of inducting an officer into the sta« 



WARRANTED LODGES. 295 

Hon to which he has been elected by some cere- 
mony, however simple, has been observed in every 
association. The introduction of the presiding 
officer of a profane society into the chair which lie 
is to occupy, by one or more of the members, is, in 
every essential point, an installation. In the church, 
the ceremony (differing, as it must, in every denomi- 
nation,) by which a clergyman is inducted into his 
pastoral office, or a bishop placed in his see, is in 
like manner a species of installation, all of which 
forms find their type in the inauguration of the 
Augurs in ancient Rome into their sacred office.* 
A similar usage prevails in Masonry, where it has 
always been held that an officer cannot legally per- 
form the duties of his office until he has been in- 
stalled into office. As in the Roman inauguration 
the rite could only be performed by an Augur, 
(whence the derivation of the word,) so in Masonry 
the ceremony of installation can only be performed 
by a Past Master, and in the installation of the offi- 
cers of a new Lodge, by the Grand Master or some 
Past Master, who has been especially deputed by 
Lim for that purpose. 

Preston says that the Deputy Grand Master usu- 
ally invests the Master, the Grand Wardens invest 
the Wardens, the Grand Treasurer and Grand 
Secretary the Treasurer and Secretary, and the 
Grand Stewards the Stewards. But this usage 

* A reference to Smith (Diet, of G-reek and Roman Ant.) will show 
how much the inauguration of the Augurs resembled in all its provisions the 
Masonic installation. 



296 ORGANIZATION OF 

is not observed in America, where all the officers 
are installed and invested by the same installing 
officer, whether he be the Grand Master or a Past 
Master. 

The ceremony of installing the subordinate offi- 
cers consists simply in the administration of an obli- 
gation for the faithful discharge of the duties of the 
office, with the investment of the appropriate jewel, 
and the delivery of a short charge. But in the in- 
stallation of the Master, other ceremonies are 
added. He is required to signify his assent to cer- 
tain propositions which contain, as it were, the Ma- 
sonic confession of faith ; and he is also invested 
with the Past Master's degree. All the writers on 
the subject of installation concur in the theory that 
the conferring of the Past Master's degree consti- 
tutes an integral part of the installation ceremony. 
The language of the oldest ritual that has been 
preserved, that of the Duke of Wharton, hints at 
the fact that there was some secret ceremony at- 
tached to the exoteric formula of installation,* and 
the hint thus given has been fully developed by 
Preston, who expressly states that the new Master 
is " conducted to an adjacent room, where he is 
regularly installed and bound to his trust in ancient 

* " Then the Grand Master, placing the candidate on his left hand, having 
ashed and obtained the unanimous consent of all the brethren, shall say, I 
constitute and fcxm these good brethren into a new Lodge, and appoint you 
the Master of it, not doubting of your capacity and care to preserve the 
cement of the Lodge, &c, with some other expressions that are proper and 
usual m that occasion, but not proper to be written*" — Anderson, firs*, 
edit., p. 71. 



WARRANTED LODGES. 297 

form, in the presence of at least three installed Mas- 
ters." I cannot, therefore, hesitate to believe, from 
the uniform concurrence of all authorities, that the 
investiture with the Past Master's degree consti- 
tutes an essential part of the ceremony of installa- 
tion, and is actually necessary to its legality as a 
completed act. 

It is usual, in case of the absence of any one of 
the officers who is to be installed, for some other 
brother to assume his place, and, acting as his proxy, 
to make the usual promises for him, and in his be- 
half to receive the charge and investiture. Long 
and uninterrupted usage would seem alone sufficient 
to sanction this practice, (however objectionable it 
may, in some respects, be deemed,) but it has also 
the authority of ancient law ; for the thirty-sixth 
of the Regulations of 1721 prescribes that when 
the Grand Master elect is absent from the grand 
feast, that is to say, on the day of installation, 
the old Grand Master may act as his proxy, per- 
form his duties, and in his name receive the usual 
homage. 

The Lodge thus consecrated, dedicated and con- 
stituted, with its officers installed, assumes at once 
the rank and prerogatives of a warranted Lodge. 
The consecration, dedication and constitution, are 
never repeated, but at every subsequent annual elec- 
tion, the installation of officers is renewed. But 
on these occasions it is no longer necessary that the 
Grand Master or his proxy should act as the install- 
ing officer. This duty is to be performed by the 

13* 



298 ORGANIZATION OF WARRANTED LODGES. 

last Master, or by any other Past Master acting in 
his behalf ; for, by the warrant of constitution, the 
power of installing their successors is given to the 
officers therein named, and to their successors, so 
that the prerogative of installation is oerpetually 
vested in the last officers. 



CHAPTER II 

E\jc 3&igf)ts of Sufcor&mate 2,otrges* 

From what lias already been said in the preced- 
ing chapter concerning the organization of Lodges, 
it is evident that there are in the Masonic system 
two kinds of Lodges, each organized in a different 
way, and each possessing different rights and pre- 
rogatives. The Lodge working under a dispensa- 
tion, and the Lodge working under a warrant of 
constitution, differ so widely in their character, that 
each will require a distinct section for the con- 
sideration of its peculiar attributes. 

SECTION I. 

THE RIGHTS OF LODGES UNDER DISPENSATION. 

It follows, as a necessary deduction, from what 
has already been said of the organization of Lodges 
under a dispensation, that such bodies are merely 
temporary in their nature, subject to the will of the 
Grand Master for their continuance, and acting 
during their existence simply as his proxies, for the 



300 RIGHTS OF LODGES 

purpose of exercising a right which is inherent in 
him by the ancient Landmarks, that,namely,of con- 
gregating Masons to confer degrees.* The ancient 
records do not throw any light on this subject of 
Lodges under dispensation. It appears from the 
Old Regulations that the power of constituting a 
Lodge at once, without any probationary dispensa- 
tion, was originally vested in the Grand Master ; 
and the brief ceremony of constituting a new Lodge, 
to be found in the first edition of the Book of Con- 
stitutions, as well as that more enlarged one con- 
tained in the second edition of the same work,t 
was drawn up in accordance with the principle that 
the power of original constitution was vested in the 
Grand Master. But in this country the law has 
been differently interpreted, and the power of con- 
stituting Lodges having been taken from, or rather 
tacitly surrendered, by Grand Masters, it has been 
assumed by Grand Lodges alone. Hence Grand 
Masters, in exercising the power of granting dis- 
pensations to open and hold Lodges, have fallen 
back for their authority to do so on that ancient 
Landmark which makes it the prerogative of the 
Grand Master to summon any legal number of 
brethren together, and with them to make Masons. 
A Lodge under dispensation is therefore simply the 
creature or proxy of the Grand Master — congrega- 

* I have fully discussed this Landmark in the present work — Book L, p 
22-23 — to which I refer the reader. 

t See Anderson's Constitutions, first edit.,l??3i p, TO ; and second edit 
1738 p. U9 



UNDER DISPENSATION. 301 

ted for a temporary and special purpose (for it is 
admitted that the dispensation may be revoked the 
next day), or if intended to continue until a war- 
rant is granted, then only an inchoate Lodge — an 
assemblage of Masons in the state or condition pre- 
paratory to the formation of a regular Lodge.* 
But as the Landmarks give the Grand Master the 
rio'ht or prerogative of congregating his brethren 
for the purpose of making Masons only, and as it 
confers on him no power of making laws, or per- 
forming any other acts which exclusively reside in 
a perfect and complete Lodge, it is evident that his 
creature, the Lodge which derives its existence from 
bis dispensation, can possess no prerogatives which 
did not originally vest in its creation. The Grand 
Master cannot give to others that which he does 
not himself possess. The prerogatives of a Lodge 
under dispensation are therefore very limited in 
their nature, as will appear from the following 
summary : 

1. A Lodge under dispensation cannot be repre- 
sented in the Grand Lodge.f The twelfth of the 

* The Committee of Foreign Correspondence of the Grand Lodge of New 
York, in 1851, gave the Mowing definition of Lodges under dispensation : 
" They are not considered ' Lodges' within the meaning of that clause, until 
warranted. They are only in the incipient stage of forming a Lodge. The 
officers do not receive installation under dispensation. They are not con- 
sidered ' members of the Grand Lodge' within the meaning of our constitution, 
until they have received a warrant, and their Lodge has been regularly cor> 
stituted, and its officers regularly installed." — Proc. G. L.of New York^ 
1851, p. 149. 

f It will be unnecessary to cite any authorities in support of this principle, 
as the uniform usage of every Grand Lodge has always been in accordance 
with it, 



302 RIGHTS OF LODGES 

Regulations of 1721 defines the Grand Lodge as 
consisting of the " Masters and Wardens of all the 
particular Lodges upon record" -and. the seventh of 
the same Regulations intimates that no Lodge was 
to be registered or recorded until a warrant for it 
had been issued by the Grand Master. But it has 
already been shown that the old power of granting 
warrants by the Grand Master is now vested solely 
in the Grand Lodge ; and hence all that is said in 
these or an}^ other ancient Regulations, concerning 
Lodges under warrant by the Grand Master, must 
now be applied to Lodges warranted by the Grand 
Lodge, and therefore the twelfth Regulation is to 
be interpreted, under our modern law, as defining 
the Grand Lodge to consist only of the Masters and 
Wardens of Lodges which have received warrants 
from the Grand Lodge. Lodges working under the 
dispensation of the Grand Master constitute, there- 
fore, no part of the Grand Lodge, and are conse- 
quently not entitled to a representation in it. 

2. A Lodge under dispensation cannot make by- 
laws. This is a power vested only in those Lodges 
which, being of a permanent nature, constitute a 
part of the Masonic authority of the jurisdiction. 
Lodges under dispensation being of a temporary 
nature, liable at any moment to be arrested in their 
progress, and to have their very existence annulled 
at the mandate of a single man, are incapable of 
exercising the high prerogative of making by-laws 
or a constitution, the very enactment of which im- 
plies a permanency of organization. But, it may be 



UNDER DISPENSATION. 303 

asked, are such bodies then to be without any code 
or system of regulations for their government ? I 
answer, by no means. Like all other assemblies of 
Masons, congregated for a temporary period, and 
for the performance of a special Masonic duty, they 
are to be governed by the Ancient Landmarks, the 
General Regulations of the Order, and the specific 
constitutions of the Grand Lodge under whose juris- 
diction they are placed. I have noticed, it is true, 
in the proceedings of some Grand Lodges, that the 
by-laws of Lodges under dispensation have been 
submitted for approval, but such is not the general 
usage of the fraternity ; nor can I understand how 
a body, admitted not to be a Lodge, but only a 
quasi, or inchoate Lodge, can, during its temporary 
and indefinite existence, enact a code of by-laws 
which, if of any value, must necessarily be intended 
for a permanent constitution. I have never yet 
happened to examine the by-laws of a lodge under 
dispensation, but it is evident that unless such a 
body has transcended the powers delegated to it by 
the Grand Master, and assumed for itself a perma- 
nent organization, these by-laws must be entirely 
confined to the mode of making Masons, for this is 
the only prerogative which the dispensation vests 
in such a body. 

3. A Lodge under dispensation cannot elect offi 
oers. The very instrument of dispensation to which 
it is indebted for its existence, has nominated the 
officers who are to govern it as the agents of the 
Grand Master. From him alone they derive their 



304 RIGHTS OF LODGES' 

authority, and by him alone can they be displaced, 
or others substituted in their stead.-' The Grand 
Master has delegated certain powers to the persons 
named in the dispensation, but they cannot in turn 
delegate these powers of acting as Master and 
Wardens to any other persons ; for it is an estab- 
lished principle of law that a delegated authority 
cannot be re-delegated — delegata potestas non potest 
delegari. But for the Master and Wardens to re- 
sign their offices to others who had been elected by 
the Lodge, would be just such a re-delegation as is 
forbidden by the law, and hence a Lodge under dis- 
pensation cannot elect its officers. They are the 
appointees of the Grand Master. 

4. It follows, from the nature of the organization 
of a Lodge under dispensation, that it cannot install 
its officers. This is indeed a ritualistic law, for the 
installation of officers is an inherent and indivisible 
part of the ceremony of constitution,'}* & n d it is self- 
evident that a Lodge under dispensation cannot, 

* " Lodges under dispensation cannot change their officers without the 
special approbation and appointment of the Grand Lodge." — Webb, Free- 
mason's Monitor, p. 97, ed. 1808. He should have said, " Grand Master." 
But in Webb's day, if his authority is to be depended on, dispensations were 
in most jurisdictions issued only by the Grand Lodge, a usage that has now 
been universally abandoned, if it ever existed, of which I have some doubt. 
The principle, however, so far as it affects the text, is the same. The offi- 
cers can only be changed by the power that grants the dispensation. 

t The petition sent to the Grand Master by the members of the new Lodge 
which is to be constituted, as it is contained in Webb, states that "they 
have obtained a charter of constitution, and are desirous that their Lodge 
should be consecrated and their officers installed, agreeably to the ancient 
usages and customs of the craft." — Webb, Hon., p. 99. The constitution 
and consecration are <hus made conditions precedent to the installatioo. 



UNDER DISPENSATION. 305 

while in this inchoate condition, be constituted ; for 
a constituted Lodge under dispensation would be a 
contradiction in terms ; besides, no officer can be 
installed unless he has been elected or appointed 
for a definite period. But the Master and Wardens 
of a Lodge under dispensation are appointed for an 
indefinite period, that is, during the pleasure of the 
Grand Master, and are not, therefore, qualified for 
installation. 

5. A Lodge under dispensation cannot elect mem- 
bers. Candidates may be elected to receive the 
degrees, but the conferring of the third degree in a 
Lodge under dispensation does not at the same time 
confer membership, or a right to membership, as 
occurs, under similar circumstances, in a Lodge 
working under a warrant of constitution. This 
arises from the inchoate and imperfect nature of 
such a Lodge. It is simply a temporary organiza- 
tion of Masons for a specific purpose. A Lodge 
under dispensation is, in every sense of the word, 
what the old records of England call an " occasional 
Lodge," convened by the Grand Master for one pur- 
pose, and no other. There is no authority in the 
instrument that convened them to do anything else 
except to make Masons. They are brought to- 
gether under the mandate of the Grand Master for 
this purpose only, so expressed, definitely and posi- 
tively, in the plainest and most unequivocal lan- 
guage. They are not congregated to make by-laws, 
to elect members, to frame laAVS — in short, to do 
anything except " to enter, pass, and raise Free- 



306 RIGHTS OF LODGES 

masons."* If they proceed to the transaction of 
any other business than this, or what is strictly in- 
cidental to it, they transcend the authority that has 
been delegated to them. Hence, as a Lodge under 
dispensation derives all its prerogatives from the 
dispensation only, and as that instrument confers no 
other power than that of making Masons, it follows 
that the prerogative of electing members is not con- 
ferred upon it. The candidates who have received 
the degrees in such a Lodge, partake of its imperfect 
and preliminary character. If the Lodge at the 
proper time receives its warrant of constitution, 
they then become members of the completed Lodge. 
If the dispensation, on the contrary, is revoked, 
and the Lodge dissolved, they are Masons in good 
standing, but unaffiliated, and are not only permit- 
ted, but it becomes their duty, to apply to some 
regular Lodge for affiliation. 

6. This power of electing candidates to take the 
degrees in a Lodge under dispensation, is, however, 
confined to the Master and Wardens. These offi- 
cers only are named in the dispensation — they only 
are the proxies or representatives of the Grand 
Master — they only are responsible to him for the 
faithful execution of the power temporarily vested 

* Webb does not give the form of the dispensation, but it will be found in 
Cole, {Freemasons Library, p. 9, 1817,) where it is issued to the Master 
only, authorizing him to congregate a sufficient number of brethren for the 
purpose of opening a Lodge, "and in the said Lodge, while thus open, ta 
admit, enter and make Freemasons." More recently the dispensations bava 
been issued to a Master and tw: Wardens, but the intent of the instrument 
still remains the same. 



UNDER DISPENSATION. 307 

in them. All Masons who aid and assist them in 
conferring the degrees are extraneous to the dispen- 
sation, and act, in thus assisting, precisely as the 
visitors to a constituted Lodge might do, who should 
be called upon to aid the regular officers and mem- 
bers in the discharge of their duties. The corollary 
from all this is, that in a Lodge under dispensation, 
none but the Master and Wardens have a right to 
elect candidates. 

I say a rigid, because I believe that such is the 
law, as a necessary and unavoidable inference from 
the peculiar organization of Lodges under dispensa- 
tion. But it is not always proper or courteous for 
us to put ourselves on our reserved rights, and to 
push the law with rigor to its utmost limit. When 
a certain number of brethren have united themselves 
together under a Master and Wardens acting by 
dispensation, with the ulterior design of applying 
for a warrant of constitution and forming them- 
selves into a regular Lodge, although they have no 
legal right to ballot for candidates, the selection of 
whom has been intrusted by the Grand Master to 
the three officers named in the dispensation for that 
especial purpose ; yet as the choice of those who 
are hereafter to be their associates in the future 
Lodge, must be a matter of interest to them, ordi- 
nary courtesy, to say nothing of Masonic kindness, 
should prompt the Master and Yfarclens to consult- 
the feelings of their brethren, and to ask their 
opinions of the eligibility of the candidates wIig 
apply to be made Masons. Perhaps the most expe* 



308 POWERS OF LODGES WORKING 

ditious and convenient mode of obtaining this ex- 
pression of their opinions is to have recourse to a 
ballot, and to do so, as an act of courtesy, is of 
course unobjectionable. 

I am perfectly aware that it is the general rule 
for all the brethren present to ballot for candidates 
in Lodges under dispensation ; but the question is 
not, what is the usage, but what is the law which 
should govern the usage ? The balloting may take 
place in such a Lodge, but it must be remembered, 
if we are to be governed by the principles and in- 
ferences of law, that each brother, when he deposits 
his ball, does so, not by any legal right that he pos- 
sesses., but simply by the courtesy of the Master and 
Wardens, who have adopted this convenient method 
of consulting the opinions and obtaining the counsel 
of their brethren, for their own satisfaction. All 
ballots held in a Lodge under dispensation are, 
except as regards the votes of the Master and 
Wardens, informal. 



SECTION II. 

THE POWERS OF LODGES WORKING UNDER WARRANTS OF 
CONSTITUTION. 

The ritual defines a Lodge to be " an assemblage 
of Masons, duly congregated, having the Holy Bible, 
square and compasses, and a charter or warrant of 
constitution authorizing them to work." Now, the 
latter part of this definition is a modern addition, 



TINDER WARRANTS OF CONSTITUTION. 309 

for anciently no such instrument as a warrant of 
constitution was required ; and hence ' tlie Old 
Charges describe a Lodge simply as " a duly organ- 
ized society of Masons."* Anciently, therefore, 
Masons met and performed the work of Masonry, 
organizing temporary Lodges, which were dissolved 
as soon as the work for which they had been con- 
gregated was completed, without the necessity of a 
warrant to legalize their proceedings. But in 1717, 
an organization of the Grand Lodge of England 
took place, at which time there were four Lodges 
existing in London, who thus met by inherent right 
as Masons. As soon as the organization of the 
Grand Lodge had been satisfactorily completed, 
the four Lodges adopted a code of thirty-nine 
Regulations, which, like the Magna Charta of the 
English barons, was intended, in all times there- 
after, to secure the rights and privileges of the 
fraternity from any undue assumptions of power on 
the part of the Grand Lodge. Having accomplished 
this preliminary measure, they then, as the legal 
representatives of the craft, surrendered, for them- 
selves and their successors, this inherent right of 
meeting into the hands of the Grand Lodge ; and 
the eighth Regulation then went into operation, 
which requires any number of Masons who wish 
to form a Lodge, to obtain, as a preparatory step 5 
the Grand Master's warrant or authority. f At 

* See Old Charges in Anderson, first ed., p. 51. 

t See the history of these events in Preston, (Oliver's ed.) pp. 182-185. 
Preston says that the warrant of the Grand Master required " the consent 



810 POWERS OF LODGES WORKING 

the same time other prerogatives, which had always 
vested in the craft, were, by the same regulations, 
surrendered to the Grand Lodge, so that the rela- 
tive position. of the Grand Lodge to its subordi- 
nates, and of the subordinate Lodges to the Grand 
Lodge, has, ever since the year 1717, been very dif- 
ferent from that which was previously held by the 
General Assembly or Annual Grand Lodge to the 
craft. 

The first and the most important deduction that 
we make from this statement is, that whatever 
powers and prerogatives a Lodge may now possess, 
are those which have always been inherent in it by 
the Ancient Landmarks of the Order. No new 
powers have been created in it by the Grand Lodge. 
The Regulations of 1721 were a concession as well 
as a reservation* on the part of the subordinate 
Lodges. The Grand Lodge was established by the 

and approbation of the Grand Lodge in communication, and he quotes a 
regulation to that effect ; but I find no such qualification in Anderson, or any 
of the subsequent editions of the Constitutions. The eighth Regulation dis- 
tinctly says that the petitioners " must obtain the Grand Master's warrant," 
without any subsequent allusion to the confirmatory action of the Grand 
Master. But as the Grand Lodge always exercised the prerogative of strik- 
ing Lodges off the registry, we may suppose that it had the power of a veto 
on the action of the Grand Lodge. Still the language of the Regulations of 
1721 lead us everywhere to believe that a Lodge was completely constituted 
by the warrant of the Grand Master. Such still continues to be the regula- 
tion in England. Thus the modern Constitutions of the Grand Lodge o! 
England prescribe that a dispensation may be granted by the Provincial 
Grand Master, until " a warrant of constitution shall be signed by the Grand 
Master." — Const of G-. L. of Eng., p. 123. Bat in this country, as I have 
already shown, warrants must emanate from the Grand Lodge. 

* A concession of some rights, such as that of granting warnnts, and a 
reservation of others, such as that of admitting members. 



UNDER WARRANTS OF CONSTITUTION. 311 

fraternity for purposes of convenience in govern- 
ment. Whatever powers it possesses were yielded 
to it freely and by way of concession by the frater- 
nity, not as the representatives of the Lodges, but 
as the Lodges themselves, in general assembly con- 
vened.* The rights, therefore, which were conceded 
by the Lodges they have not, but whatever they did 
not concede, they have reserved to themselves, and 
they claim and exercise such rights, not by grant 
from the Grand Lodge, but as derived from the 
ancient Landmarks and the old Constitutions of the 
Order. This axiom must be constantly borne in 
mind, as it will be necessary for the elucidation of 
many points of Masonic law, concerning the rights 
and powers of subordinate Lodges. 

In an inquiry into the rights and powers of a 
Lodge, it will be found that they may be succinctly 
considered under fourteen different heads. A 
Lodge has a right— 

I. To retain possession of its warrant of consti- 
tution. 

II. To do all the work of ancient craft Masonry. 

III. To transact all business that can be legally 
transacted by regularly congregated Masons. 

IY. To be represented at all communications of 
the Grand Lodge. 

Y. To increase its numbers by the admission of 
new members. 

* The first meetings of the Grand Lodge in 1717, and until the adoption of 
the thirty-nine Regulations in 1721, were meetings, not of the Masters and 
Wardens only, but of the whole craft. There is abundant evidence of this in 
Anderson and Preston. 



312 P0WEKS OF LODGES WORKING 

VI. To elect its officers. 

VII. To install its officers after being elected. 

VIII. To exclude a member, on cause shown, 
temporarily or permanently, from the Lodge. 

IX. To make by-laws for its local government. 

X. To levy a tax upon its members. 

XI. To appeal to the Grand Lodge from the de 
cision of its Master. 

XII. To exercise penal jurisdiction over its own 
members, and on unaffiliated Masons living within 
the limits of its jurisdiction. 

XIII. To select a name for itself. 

XIV. To designate and change its time and 
place of meeting. 

Each of these prerogatives is connected with cor- 
relative duties, and is restricted, modified and con- 
trolled by certain specific obligations, each of which 
requires a distinct and careful consideration. 

I. A Lodge lias the rigid to retain possession of its 
warrant of constitution. In this respect we see at 
once a manifest difference between a warranted 
Lodge and one working under a dispensation. The 
latter derives its authority from the Grand Master, 
and the dispensation, which is the instrument by 
which that authority is delegated, may at any time 
be revoked by the officer from whom it emanated. 
In such an event there is no mode of redress pro- 
vided by law. The dispensation is the voluntary 
act of the Grand Master, is granted ex gratia, and 
may be withdrawn by the same act of will which 
first prompted the grant. There can be no appeal 



UNDER WARRANTS OF CONSTITUTION. 313 

from such an act of revocation, nor can any Masonic 
tribunal require that the Grand Master should show 
cause for this exertion of his prerogative. 

But the warrant having been granted by the 
Grand Lodge, the body of Masons thus constituted 
form at once a constituent part of the Grand 
Lodge. They acquire permanent rights which can- 
not be violated by any assumption of authority, nor 
abrogated except in due course of Masonic law. 
The Grand Master may, in the conscientious dis- 
charge of his duty, suspend the work of a chartered 
Lodge, when he believes that that suspension is 
necessary for the good of the Order ; but he cannot 
recall or revoke the warrant. From that suspen- 
sion of work there is of course an appeal to the 
Grand Lodge, and that body alone can, on cause 
shown, and after due and legal investigation, with- 
draw or revoke the warrant.* 

When a Grand Master thus suspends the labors 
of a Lodge, he is usually. said " to arrest the war- 
rant." There is no objection to the phrase, if its 
signification is properly understood. " To arrest 
the warrant of a Lodge" is simply to forbid its com- 
munications, and to prevent its members from con- 

* " No warrant of a Lodge can be forfeited except upon charges regularly 
made in Grand Lodge, at its annual communication, of which due notice 
shall be given the Lodge, and an opportunity of being heard in its defence ; 
but it may be suspended by the Grand Lodge or Grand Master, or Deputy 
Grand Master, at any time, upon proper cause shown, which suspension 
shall not extend beyond the next annual communication." 7 — Ccrast. Grand 
Lodge of New York, §19. This, with the prerogative of suspension con- 
ferred upon the Deputy, and which is merely a local law of New York, 
seems to be the settled law upon the subject. 

14 



s 



314 POWERS OF LODGES WORKING 

gregating for the purposes of Masonic labor or 
business, under the authority of the warrant. But 
otherwise the condition of the Lodge remains un- 
changed. It does not forfeit its funds or property, 
and its members continue in good standing in the 
Order ; and should the decree of arrest by the 
Grand Master be reversed by the Grand Lodge, it 
resumes its functions just as if no such suspension 
or arrest had occurred. I have no doubt that the 
Grand Master cannot demand the delivery of the 
warrant into his custody ; for having been intrusted 
to the Master, Wardens, and their successors, by the 
Grand Lodge, the Master, who is the proper cus- 
todian of it, has no right to surrender it to any one, 
except to that body from whom it emanated. The 
" arrest of the warrant" is only a decree of the 
Grand Master in the character of an injunction, by 
which he forbids the Lodge to meet until the com- 
plaints preferred against it can be investigated and 
adjudicated by the Grand Lodge. 

The laws of Masonry provide only two ways in 
which the warrant of constitution of a Lodge can 
be forfeited, and the Lodge dissolved. The first of 
these is by an act of the Grand Lodge, after due 
trial. The oitences which render a Lodge liable to 
this severe penalty are enumerated in the Constitu- 
tion of the Grand Lodge of New York * as being ; 
1. Contumacy to the authority of the Grand Mas 
ter or Grand Lodge. 2. Departure from the ori 
ginal plan of Masonry and Ancient Landmarks 

* Constitution G. L. of New York, § 17. 



TINDER WARRANTO OF CONSTITUTION. 315 

3. Disobedience to the constitutions. And 4, Ceas- 
ing to meet for one year or more. To these I am 
disposed to add, 5. The indiscriminate making of 
immoral candidates, whereby the reputation of 
the institution in the vicinity of the Lodge is im- 
paired. 

The second mode by which a Lodge may be dis- 
solved is by a voluntary surrender of its warrant. 
This must be by the act of a majority of the mem- 
bers, and at a communication especially called for 
that purpose. But it has been held that the Master 
must concur in this surrender ; for, if he does not, 
being the custodian of the instrument, it cannot be 
taken from him, except upon trial and conviction 
of a competent offence before the Grand Lodge. 

As the warrant of constitution is so important an 
instrument, being the evidence of the legality of the 
Lodge, it is essentially necessary that it should be 
present and open to the inspection of all the mem- 
bers and visitors at each communication of the 
Lodge. The ritual requires that the three great 
lights of Masonry should always be present in the 
Lodge, 45 " as necessary to its organization as a just 

* I cannot refrain from quoting here, although not strictly a legal subject, 
the beautiful language of the Committee of Foreign Correspondence of the 
Grand Lodge of New Jersey, in 1849 : 

" The Bible is found in every Masonic assembly. Nor is it there as a 
slighted and neglected symbol of the Order. Upon its pages often rests the 
hand and falls the eye of the candidate from the moment the first star of 
Masonry rises upon his vision to ' the breaking of the dominion of the infidel 
over the Holy Sepulchre, by the tried steel and strong arm of valorous 
knight'. To the authority of that volume Masonry appeals for the solemnity 
cf her obligations and the purity of her principles. It shines in her templea 



316 POWERS OF LODGES WORKING 

Lodge. Equally necessary is the warrant of con- 
stitution to its organization as a legal Lodge ; and 
therefore if the warrant is mislaid or out of the 
room at the time of opening, it is held by Masonic 
jurists that the Lodge cannot be opened until that 
instrument is brought in and deposited in a con- 
spicuous place, the most usual, and perhaps the most 
proper, being the pedestal of the Master. 

Hence, too, as the warrant is the evidence of the 
legality of a Lodge, every Mason who desires to 
visit a Lodge for the first time is entitled to an in- 
spection of this instrument, nor should any Mason 
ever consent to visit a strange Lodge until he has 
had an opportunity of examining it. The refusal 
to submit it to his inspection is in itself a suspicious 
circumstance, which should place him on his guard, 
and render him at once averse to holding communion 
of a Masonic nature with persons who are thus un- 
willing, and, it may be, unable to produce the evi- 
dence of their legal standings. 

II. A Lodge has the right to do all the ivorh of 
ancient craft Masonry. This is the principal object 
for which the Lodge was constituted. Formerly, 
Lodges were empowered to exalt their candidates to 
the Royal Arch degree, but since the beginning of 
this century this power has been transferred in this 
country to Chapters, and a Lodge is now only 
authorized to confer the three degrees of symbolic 

as the first and brightest of her jewels, and the durable texture of all her 
royal and beautiful vestments is woven cf the golden threads of its subhmest 
truths and most impressive passages," 



UNDER WARRANTS OF CONSTITUTION. 317 

Masonry,- and also, at the time of installation, to in- 
vest its Master with the degree or order of Past 
Master. But this power to do the work of Masonry 
is restricted and controlled by certain very im- 
portant regulations, most of which, having been 
already amply discussed in a preceding part of 
this work, need only to be referred to on this 
occasion. 

1. The candidate upon whom the Lodge is about 
to confer any of the degrees of ancient craft Ma- 
sonry, must apply by petition, duly recommended ; 
for no Lodge has the right to intrude the secrets of 
the institution upon any person who has expressed 
no anxiety to receive them. All the regulations 
which relate to the petition of a candidate have 
been discussed in Book II., chapter II., page 122, to 
which the reader is referred. 

2. The candidate must be possessed of the proper 
qualifications, which are prescribed by the laws of 
the Order. See Book II., chap. L, pp. 83-121. 

3. His application must undergo a ballot, and he 
must be unanimously elected. See Book II., chap. 
III., pp. 134-148. 

4. The Eegulations of 1721 prescribe that a 
Lodge cannot confer the degrees on more than five 
candidates at one time, which last words have been 
interpreted to mean at the same communication. 
In the second and all subsequent editions of the 
Constitution, this law was modified by the qualifica 
tion " without an urgent necessity ;" and this seems 
to be the view now taken of it by the authorities of 



318 POWERS OF LODGES WORKING 

the Order, for it is held that it may "be set aside by 
the dispensation of the Grand Master. 

5. It seems aUo to be a very general regulation 
that no Lodge shall confer more than one degree on 
the same candidate at one communication, unless it 
be on urgent necessity, by the dispensation of the 
Grand Master. We find no such rule in the General 
Regulations of 1721, because there was no necessity 
at that time for it, as subordinate Lodges conferred 
only one degree, that of Entered Apprentice. But 
subsequently, when the usage was adopted of con- 
ferring all the degrees in the subordinate Lodges, it 
was found necessary, in this way, to restrain the too 
rapid advancement of candidates : and accordingly, 
in 1753, it was ordered that no Lodge shall " be 
permitted to make and raise the same brother at 
one and the same meeting, without a dispensation 
from the Grand Master." But as no such regula- 
tion is to be found in any of the written or unwrit- 
ten laws previous to 1717, it can only have such 
authority as is derived from the local enactment of 
a Grand Lodge, or the usage in a particular juris- 
diction. But the usage in this country alwaj r s has 
been opposed to the conferring more than one 
degree at the same communication, without a dis- 
pensation.* 

* Some jurists deny the right of the Grand Master to grant a dispensation 
for conferring the three degrees at the same communication. But I know 
of no ansient law which supports such a theory, and the records of the Book 
of Constitutions show several instances in which it was done in " occasional 
Lodges." Besides, the Regulation quoted in the text is an admission that in 
casea of emergency, such a dispensation may be granted. 



UNDER WARRANTS OF CONSTITUTION. 319 

III. A Lodge lias the right to transact all business 
l hai can be legally transacted by regularly congregated 
Masons. This also is one of the objects for which 
the warrant was granted, but like the preceding 
right already considered, it is to be exercised under 
the regulation of certain restrictions. 

It seems now to be almost universally conceded 
that all mere business (by which word I wish to 
make a distinction from what is technically called 
" Masonic work,") must be transacted in the third 
degree. This is a very natural consequence of the 
change which has taken place in the organization 
of the craft. Originally, as I have already repeat- 
edly ob-served, the Fellow Crafts constituted the 
great body of the fraternity — the Master's degree 
being confined to that select few who presided over 
the Lodges. At that time the business of the Order 
was transacted in the second degree, because the 
possessors of that degree composed the body of the 
craft. Afterwards, in the beginning, and up almost 
to the middle of the last century, this main body 
was made up of Entered Apprentices, and then the 
business' of Lodges was necessarily transacted in 
the first degree. Now, and ever since the middle 
of the eighteenth century, for more than one hundred 
years, the body of the craft has consisted only of 
Master Masons. Does it not then follow, by a 
parity of reasoning, that all business should be 
now transacted in the third degree ? The ancient 
Charges and Constitutions give us no explicit law 
on the subject, but the whole spirit and tenor of 



320 POWERS OF LODGES WORKING 

Masonic usage has been that the business of Lodges 
should be conducted in that degree, the members of 
which constitute the main body of the craft at the 
time. Whence it seems but a just deduction that 
at the present time, and in the present condition of 
the fraternity, all business, except the mere ritual 
work of the inferior degrees, should be conducted in 
the third degree. Another exception must be made 
as to the examination of witnesses in the trial of an 
Entered Apprentice or a Fellow Craft, which, for 
purposes of justice, should be conducted in the de- 
gree to which the defendant has attained ; but even 
here the final decision should always be made in the 
third degree. 

In conducting the business of a Lodge, certain 
rules are to be observed, as in all other deliberative 
bodies ; but these will be more appropriately con- 
sidered in a chapter devoted to the discussion of 
" rules of order," in a subsequent part of this work. 

IV. A Lodge has the right to be represented at all 
communications of the Grand Lodge. I have already 
said, in a previous part of this work, that -it is a 
Landmark of the Order that every Mason has a 
right to be represented in all general meetings of 
the craft.* The origin of this right is very inti- 
mately connected with an interesting portion of the 
history of the institution. In former times, every 
Mason, even " the youngest Entered Apprentice," 
'had a right to be present at the General Assembly 
of the craft, which was annually held. And even 

* See ante, p. 27 



UNDER WARRANTS OF CONSTITUTION. 6'Z\ 

as late as 1717, on the re-organization of the Grand 
Lodge of England, Ave are informed by Preston that 
the Grand Master summoned all the brethren to meet 
him and his Wardens in the quarterly communica- 
tions.* But soon after, it being found, I presume, 
that a continuance of such attendance would render 
the Grand Lodge an unwieldy body ;t and the 
rights of the fraternity having been securely guarded 
by the adoption of the thirty-nine Regulations, it 
was determined to limit the appearance of the 
brethren of each Lodge, at the quarterly communi- 
cations, to its Master and Wardens, so that the 
Grand Lodge became thenceforth a strictly repre- 
sentative hodj, composed of the first three officers 
of the subordinate Lodges. The inherent right and 
the positive duty of every Mason to be present at 
the General Assembly or Grand Lodge, was re- 
linquished, and a representation by Masters and 
Wardens was substituted in its place. A few mo- 
dern Grand Lodges have disfranchised the Wardens 
also, and confined the representation to the Masters 
only. But this is evidently an innovation, having 
no color of authority in the Old Regulations. 

The right of instruction follows, as a legitimate 

* " The Grand Master then entered on the duties of his office, appointed 
his Wardens, and commanded the brethren of the four Ledges to meet him 
and his Wardens quarterly in communication/' — Preston, p. 182. 

f Thus Anderson tells us that, in 1721, when the number of the Lodges 
vrere much less than twenty, for that was only the number recorded on the 
registry of 1723, " Payne, Grand Master, observing the number of Lodges 
to increase, and that the General Assembly required more room, proposed 
the nezt assembly and feast to be held at Stationers' Hall, Ludgate Street 
which was agreed to." — Anderson, seconded., 1738, p. 112. 

14* 



d22 POWERS OF LODGES WORKING 

corollary, from that of representation, for it is evi- 
dent that a Lodge whose instructions to its officers 
for their conduct in the Grand Lodge should not be 
obeyed, would not, in fact, be represented in that 
body. Accordingly the right of instruction is, for 
that reason, explicitly recognized in the General 
Regulations of 1721.* 

V. A Lodge has the right to increase its numbers 
by the admission of neiv members. The warrant of 
constitution having been granted permanently and 
for the general objects of Masonry, and not for a 
specific purpose and a prescribed period, as is the 
case with Lodges under dispensation, the quality of 
perpetuity is granted with it as one of the necessary 
conditions. But this perpetuity can only be secured 
by the admission of new members to supply the 
places of those who die or demit. t This admission 
may take place either b}^ the initiation of profanes, 
who acquire by that initiation the right of member- 
ship, or by the election of unaffiliated Masons. 
Both of these methods of increasing the members of 
a Lodge are controlled by certain regulations, which 
have been already discussed in previous portions of 
this work, and need not be repeated here. The 
reader is accordingly referred, for the subject of 

* " The majority of every particular Lodge, when congregated, shall have 
the privilege of giving instructions to their Master and Wardens, before the 
assembling of the Grand Chapter or Lodge, at the three quarterly com- 
munications hereafter mentioned, and of the annual Grand Lodge too ; be- 
cause their Master and Wardens are their representatives, and are supposed 
to speak their mind." — Regulations of 1721, article x., Anderson, firs* 
edit., page 61. 

T See Landmark. 10 and 12, ante,p. 26. 



UNDER WARRANTS OF CONSTITUTION. 323 

admission by initiation, to Book III., chap. III., 
sec. I., p. 180, and for that of admission by election 
to the succeeding section of the same chapter, p. 196. 
The subject of honorary membership has also been 
fully discussed in pages 189-192.* 

VI. A Lodge has the right to elect its officers. It 
is a Landmark of the Order that every Lodge should 
be governed by a Master and two Wardens, and 
that the secrecy of its labors should be secured by 
a tiler. These officers it is the inherent right of 
every Lodge to select for itself, and that right has 
never been surrendered to the Grand Lodge, and 
therefore is still vested in the Lodges, under such 
regulations as may from time to time be adopted. 
The other officers have been the creation of Grand 
Lodge regulations, and they vary in name and 
functions in different countries. But whatever may 
be the nature of the offices, the power of selecting 
the office-bearers is always vested in the Lodges. 
There is no law now in existence, nor ever was, 
which gives the Grand Lodge the power of selecting 
the officers of one of its subordinates 

* There is no limit, except convenience, to the number of members of 
which a Lodge may consist. Dalcho says that, " more than fifty, when 
they can attend regularly, as the rules of the craft require, are generally 
found inconvenient for working to advantage." — Ahiman Iiezon, 1822, p. 40, 
I do not understand his objection, as no matter what may be the number of 
members present, only a certain portion of them can take a part in the 
labors of the Lodge. Dalcho's estimate, however, exceeds the usual limit in 
this country ; for, taking the Masonic population of ten States Lt random, 
namely, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of 
Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois and Indiana, I find that the average 
population of each Lodge in seven of them falls below fifty members, the 
average of the T?hole ten being only forty-five members to a Lodge. 



324 POWERS OF LODGES WORKING 

But the mode and time, and many other circum- 
stances incidental to the election, are regulated by 
the Grand Lodge ; and this apparent interference 
with the rights of the Lodges has been wisely con- 
ceded, that strict uniformity in Lodge organization 
may exist in each jurisdiction, so far as its own 
limits extend. These regulations respecting the 
officers of subordinate Lodges will be the special 
subject of consideration in the following chapter. 

VII. A Lodge has the right to install its officers 
after being elected. This is a right incidental to the 
grant of perpetual succession, which is contained in 
the warrant ; for, as by ancient Masonic law and 
universal usage, no officer can legally discharge the 
functions of the office to which he has been elected, 
until he has been regularly inducted into it by the 
ceremony of installation, it follows that when a 
grant of perpetual succession of officers is made, the 
grant carries with it the power of investing all suc- 
ceeding officers with the powers and functions of 
their predecessors, which investiture is accomplished 
in Masonry by the ceremony of installation. But 
this power of installation, like all the other powers 
of subordinate Lodges, is controlled and directed by 
certain Grand Lodge regulations, which it is not in 
the power of the Lodge to set aside. 

The installation, for instance, must take place at 
the communication, immediately before or on the 
festival of St. John the Evangelist. This is con- 
sidered as the commencement of the Masonic year, 
and on that day the old officers vacate their seats, 



UNDER WARRANTS OF CONSTITUTION. 325 

which are assumed by the new ones. But if by any 
circumstance the installation Las been omitted until 
after this festival, the law having been violated, ' 
and there being no other law which provides for an 
installation after that day, the installation can then 
only take place by the authority and under the dis- 
pensation of the Grand Master. 

We have seen, in the preceding chapter, that at 
the constitution of a new Lodge, the installation can 
only be conducted by the Grand Master, or some 
Past Master, acting for and representing him. This 
is because on that occasion the installation makes 
a part of the ceremony of constitution, which, by 
the Old Regulations, can only be performed by the 
Grand Master. But all subsequent installations 
may be conducted by any Past Master of the Lodge, 
or other Past Master representing him ; because 
the warrant grants the Master of the Lodge and his 
successors the perpetual power of installing their 
successors. It is only when the exercise of this 
right has been temporarily forfeited by an omission 
to install at the regular time, that it becomes neces- 
sary to go outside of the warrant, and apply to the 
Grand Master for his dispensing power to legalize 
the installation at an irregular period. 

It has been supposed by many that when an officer 
who has once been installed, is re-elected to the same 
office, a repetition of the installation is not neces- 
sary ; but this neglect of forms, in an institution 
which depends so much on them, is, 1 think, of 
dangerous tendency, and it is therefore better that 



326 POWERS OF LODGES WORKING 

the installation should always be repeated. In fact 
the omission of it changes, if not practically, at 
least theoretically, the tenure by which the re- 
elected officer holds his office for the second year. 
At his first election he was of course installed ; now 
by the law of Masonry, an old officer holds on until 
his successor is installed. But in this case he is his 
own successor, and if, on his second election, he does 
again pass through the ceremony of installation, it 
is evident that he holds the office to which he has 
been elected, not by the tenure of that election, but 
by the tenure by which an old officer retains his 
office until his successor is installed. He is not, 
therefore, the regularly installed officer for the 
year, but the former one, retaining the office in trust 
for his successor. The theory of his official position 
is entirely changed ; and as the obligation for the 
faithful discharge of the duties of the office for the 
year on which he has entered has never been ad- 
ministered to him, it is a question how far a man, 
not strictly conscientious, might feel himself con- 
trolled by the promises he had made for the preced- 
ing year, and which he might, with sophistry, I 
admit, suppose to have been fulfilled at the close of 
his term of office. And although this practical re- 
sult might never occur, still, as I have already said, 
it is dangerous, in a ceremonial institution like ours, 
to neglect the observance of any prescribed form.* 

* Lord Coke has wisely said that, " prudent antiquity did, for more so 
Temnity and better memory and observation of that which is to be done, es 
press substances under ceremonies." 



UNDER WARRANTS OF CONSTITUTION. 3*27 

VIII. A Lodge has the rigid to exclude a member, 
on cause shown, temporarily or permanently , from 
the Lodge. This right, which may be exercised 
either by suspension or expulsion, or by simply 
striking from the roll, is of so important a nature, 
and is controlled by so many qualifying regulations 
of the Grand Lodge and the Ancient Constitutions, 
which direct or restrict the excluding power, that I 
shall postpone the discussion of the subject until, in 
a subsequent part of this work, I come to the con- 
sideration of Masonic punishments. 

IX. A Lodge has the right to make by-laivs for its 
local government. This right must be considered as 
a concession or regrant by the Grand Lodge to the 
subordinates of that which had been previously con- 
veyed to it. Undoubtedly every congregation of 
Masons must originally have possessed an inherent 
right to make rules for their government • but on 
the organization of Grand Lodges, the supreme 
legislative jurisdiction of the Order was vested in 
these bodies. Hence the law-making power is now 
admitted to reside primarily in Grand Lodges ; but 
a portion of this power — just so much as is neces- 
sary for making local regulations — has been re- 
conveyed by the Grand Lodges to their subordinate 
Lodges, with the qualifying restrictions that all 
by-laws made by a Lodge must be in accordance 
with the Landmarks of the Order and the Regula- 
tions of the Grand Lodge, and must also be submit- 
ted for approval to the Grand Lodge. This right 
then, of making by-laws is not an inherent and in 



328 POWERS OF LODGES WORKING 

"dependent right, but one which is derived from 
the concession of the Grand Lodge, and may at 
any time be still further abridged or altogether 
revoked. 

It has been suggested in some jurisdictions that the 
Grand Lodge should prepare a uniform code of by- 
laws for the government of its subordinates, thus 
depriving them of the power of enacting their own 
local regulations. I cannot, in view of the theory 
just advanced, deny the right of a Grand Lodge to 
assume such a power, which seems to be clearly 
within its prerogative. And indeed, while some 
liberty should be allowed a Lodge to make laws for 
its government in certain particulars, which can in 
no way affect the general condition of the Order, 
such, for instance, as relate to the contributions of 
members, the time of meeting, &c, I am clearly 
convinced that it would be most expedient for every 
Grand Lodge, like that of New York * to leave as 
little as possible in the way of law-making to its 
subordinates, but to incorporate in its own consti- 
tution the most important articles for the govern- 
ment of Lodges. 

From the fact that the by-laws of a Lodge must 
be submitted to the Grand Lodge for its approval 
and confirmation, arises the doctrine that a subordi- 
nate Lodge cannot, even by unanimous consent, sus- 

* " Standard form of by-laws, intended to serve as a guide in the formation 
of by-laws for Subordinate Lodges, and subject to such alterations, not incon- 
sistent with the Constitution, is the convenience of the Lodges may dictate.'' 
—Proceed. G. L. of N. Y, 1858, p. 172. 



UNDER WARRANTS OF CONSTITUTION. 329 

pencl a by-law. As there is no error more commonly 
committed than this by unthinking Masons, who 
suppose that in a Lodge, as in any other society, a 
by-law may be suspended by unanimous consent, it 
will not be amiss to consider the question with some 
degree of care and attention. 

An ordinary society makes its own rules and 
regulations, independent of any other body, subject 
to no revision, and requiring no approbation out- 
side of itself. Its own members are the sole and 
supreme judges of what it may or may not enact for 
its own government. Consequently, as the mem- 
bers themselves have enacted the rule, the members 
themselves may unanimously agree to suspend, to 
amend, or to abolish it. 

But a Masonic Lodge presents a different organi- 
zation. It is not self-created or independent. It 
derives its power, and indeed its very existence, 
from a higher body, called a Grand Lodge which 
constitutes the supreme tribunal to adjudicate for 
it. A Masonic Lodge has no power to make by- 
laws without the consent of the Grand Lodge, in 
whose jurisdiction it is situated. The by-laws of a 
subordinate Lodge may be said only to be proposed 
by the Lodge, as they are not operative until they 
have been submitted to the Grand Lodge, and ap- 
proved by that body. Nor can any subsequent 
alteration of any of them take place unless it passes 
through the same ordeal of revision and approbation 
by the Grand Lodge. 

Hence it is evident that the control of the by- 



330 POWEES OF LODGES WORKING 

laws, rules and regulations of the Lodge, is taken 
entirely out of its hands. A certain law has been 
agreed on, we will say, by the members. It is sub- 
mitted to the Grand Lodge and approved. From 
that moment it becomes a law for the government 
of that Lodge, and cannot be repealed without the 
consent of the Grand Lodge. So far, these state- 
ments will be admitted to be correct. But if a 
Lodge cannot alter, annul or repeal such law, with- 
out the consent of the Grand Lodge, it must neces- 
sarily follow that it cannot suspend it, which is, for 
all practical purposes, a repeal for a temporary 
period. 

I will suppose, by way of example, that it is pro- 
posed to suspend the by-law which requires that at 
the annual election all the officers shall be elected 
by ballot, so as to enable the Lodge, on a particular 
occasion, to vote viva voce. Now, this law must, 
of course, have been originally submitted to the 
Grand Lodge, and approved by that body. Such 
approbation made it the enactment of the Grand 
Lodge. It had thus declared that in that particular 
Lodge all elections for officers should be determined 
by ballot. The regulation became imperative on 
the Lodge. If it determined, even by unanimous 
consent, to suspend the rule, and on a certain oc- 
casion to proceed to the election of a particular 
officer by acclamation or viva voce, then the Lodge 
was abrogating for the time a law that the Grand 
Lodge had declared was binding on it, and estab- 
lishing in its place a new one, which had not re 



UNDER WARRANTS OF CONSTITUTION. 331 

ccived the approbation of the supreme tribunal. 
Such a rule would therefore, for want of this con- 
firmation, be inoperative. It would, in fact, be no 
rule at all, or worse, it would be a rule enacted in 
opposition to the will of the Grand Lodge. This 
principle applies, of course, to every other by-law, 
whether trivial or important, local or general in its 
character. The Lodge cau touch no regulation 
after the decree of the Grand Lodge for its con- 
firmation has been passed. The regulation has gone 
out of the control of the Lodge, and its only duty 
then is implicit obedience. Hence it follows that 
it is not competent for a subordinate Lodge, even by 
unanimous consent, to suspend any of its by-laws. 

X. A Lodge has the right to levy a tax upon its 
members. Of this tax, which is paid under the name 
of " dues" or " quarterage' 7 — of the history of its 
origin, and of the obligation of a Mason to pay it — 
I have already fully treated on pages 194-195, and 
shall only add, that while I reiterate the views 
there expressed, that it is a local matter, with which 
Grand Lodges should not interfere ; yet it must be 
admitted, under the theory advanced in the preced- 
ing paragraphs on the subject of by-laws, that a 
Grand Lodge has, if it chooses, an unquestionable 
right to adopt any regulation controlling the action 
of its subordinates, in respect to this tax. The ex- 
pediency of enacting such a regulation, and the 
right to do so, are two very different things. 

XL A Lodge has the right of ajjpeal to the Grand 
Lodge from tJ?e decision of its M aster. The doctrine 



332 POWERS OP LODGES WORKING 

of appeal lies at the very foundation of the demo- 
cratic character of the Masonic institution. It is 
secured by the Landmarks of the Order ;* and so 
far as respects the right of appeal of an individual 
Mason, is reiterated in the Charges approved in 
1722. f But arguing a fortiori, it is evident that 
if an individual has the right of appeal, it must 
also be vested in a collective body of individuals. 
Accordingly it is admitted to be settled law, that 
whenever the Master of the Lodge shall, by his con- 
duct, impair the usefulness or destroy the harmony 
of the Lodge, or by any unjust decision violate the 
rights of the members, the Lodge may appeal from 
his injustice and oppression to the Grand Lodge. £ 

XII. A Lodge has the right to exercise penal juris- 
diction over its oivn members, and over all unaffiliated 
Masons living within the limits of its jurisdiction. 
This important subject of the penal jurisdiction of 
Lodges will be more appropriately discussed when 
we come to the consideration of Masonic trials, in 
a subsequent part of this work. 

XIII. A Lodge has the right to select a name for 
itself This is apparently a very unimportant pre- 
rogative ; still, as it exists, it is necessary that it 
should be enumerated. The Grand Lodge selects 
the number, because it is by this that the Lodge is 
to be recognized in the registry of the jurisdiction. 
But the choice of a name is left to the members. 

* See Landmark 13, ante p. 28. f See ante pp. 60 and G2. 

X As the records of every Grand Lodge contain instances in which this 
right of appeal has been exercised, it will be unnecessary to cite authorities 
here. 



UNDER WARRANTS OF CONSTITUTION. 333 

This right is, however, subject to one restriction, 
that it shall be approved by the Grand Lodge * 
that the credit of the fraternity in every jurisdic- 
tion may be guarded from the assumption of absurd 
or inappropriate designations by ignorant brethren. 
Unless, however, there is something very palpably 
objectionable in the name, the Grand Lodge will 
hardly ever interfere with its selection. For the 
same reason no name can be changed after having 
been once adopted, unless with the consent and ap- 
probation of the Grand Lodge. t 

XI V. A Lodge lias the right to designate and 
change its time and place of meeting. As the regula- 
tion designating the time of meeting is always in- 
serted in the by-laws, it is evident that no change 
can be made with respect to it, except with the ap- 
probation of the Grand Lodge. But there is also 
another restriction on this subject which is derived 
from the constant usage of the Order, that a Lodge 
shall statedly meet once a month at least. There 
is no specific regulation on this subject ; but the 

* The Constitution of England says the Grand Master. 

f While on this subject of names, it may be remarked, as an historical 
fact, that the designation of Lodges by names is a comparatively modern 
practice. Formerly they were known by their number, and the place at 
which they were held. Thus we find in the Book of Constitutions, such titles 
as these : " No. 9, at the Kings' Arms in New Bond Street," and " No. 19, 
at the Vine iu Long Acre," or " the Turk's Head Lodge, No. 67," and " the 
Kings' Arms Lodge, No. 38," where the nanres are pimply those of the 
taverns at which the Lodges met. Thus, in a registry of one hundred and 
six Lodges, contained in the second edition of Anderson', there is not a 
single one which has any other designation than that of its number, and the 
tavern where the meetings were held. Iu America, distinctive names began 
to be given at a much earlier period than in England. 



334 POWERS OF LODGES WORKING 

general custom of the fraternity, from the beginning 
of the last century, has made it obligatory on the 
Lodges not to extend the interval of their regular 
communications beyond that period. Besides, the 
regulations in respect to the applications of candi- 
dates for initiation or membership, which require 
" a previous notice of one month/' seem to infer 
that that was the length of time which intervened 
between two stated meetings of the Lodge. In 
some jurisdictions it is frequently the case that 
some of the Lodges meet semi-monthly ; and indeed 
instances are on record where Lodges meet weekly. 
This is permissible, but in such cases the regulation 
in relation to the petitions of candidates must be 
strictly interpreted as meaning that they are re- 
quired to lie over for one month, and not from one 
regular meeting to the other, which in such Lodges 
would only amount to one or two weeks. 

A Lodge has also the right to designate its place 
of meeting, which, being confirmed by the Grand 
Lodge, is inserted in the warrant, and cannot again 
be changed, except with the consent of the Grand 
Lodge.. This refers, of course, to the town or vil- 
lage in which the Lodge is situated.* But unless 

* " A Lodge may not remove its place of meeting from the city, town or 
village named in its warrant ; nor from one place to another in the same city, 
town or village, except by a concurrent vote of two-thirds of the members 
present, at a meeting to be appointed by the summons to attend such meet- 
ing, stating its object, and which summons must be served at least ten days 
previous to such meeting ; and such removal from the city, town or village, 
must receive the sanction of the Grand Lodge previous thereto."— C< nst. G, 
L. of I\ r . Y. § '20. A similar regulation prevails in almost every Grand 
Lodge Constitution in the United States. 



UNDER WARRANTS OF CONSTITUTION. 335 

tLere be a local regulation in the constitution of 
any particular Grand Lodge to that effect, I know 
of no principle of Masonic law, set forth in the 
Ancient Landmarks or Regulations, which forbids 
a Lodge, upon the mere vote of the majority, from 
removing from one house to another in the same 
town or city. A regulation was adopted in 1724 
by the Grand Lodge of England, which required 
notice of such removal to be given to the Grand 
Secretary j* and thp antiquity of this law, border- 
ins:, as it does, on the date of the Regulations of 
1721, which are considered to be of general author- 
ity, as well as the ordinary principles of courtesy, 
would make it obligatory on any Lodge to observe 
it. But the Regulations adopted in 1738, on the 
subject of removal, which particularly define the 
mode in which such removal is to be affected, are 
of no authority at present ;t and unless the Grand 
Lodge of any particular jurisdiction has adopted a 
regulation forbidding the removal of a Lodge from 
one house to another, without its consent, I know 
of no law in Masonry of universal force which 
would prohibit such a removal, at the mere option 
of the Lodge. 

Such are the powers and prerogatives of a Lodge ; 
nor is it to be supposed that prerogatives so numer- 
ous and so important would be conferred on any 

* See Book of Constitutions, ed. 1759, p. 314. 

f The-e regulations prescribed that the Lodge should not be removed, 
except with the Master's concurrence, or by a vote of two-thirds of the mem- 
bers, and with the approbation of the Grand Master. 



336 POWERS OF LODGES, ETC. 

association without the implied existence of exten- 
sive duties. It must, therefore, be remembered that 
as the Grand Lodge is the general conservator of 
the Masonic character and interests in the whole 
territory over which it presides, so each subordinate 
Lodge is equally the conservator of the same charac- 
ter and interests in its own local jurisdiction. If, 
therefore, a Lodge is wise in its selection of laws, 
and strict in the exercise of discipline — if it watches 
with assiduity over the Landmarks of the Order, 
and with prudent foresight prevents the slightest 
attempt at an innovation on them — if its members 
use the black ball, as the great bulwark of Masonry, 
with impartial justice, and give, in their own con- 
duct, the best refutation of the slanders of our 
enemies — then, and then only — to use the language 
of our ritual — will " the honor, glory and reputation 
of the institution be firmly established, and the 
world at large convinced of its good effects." And 
to effect these objects is the great duty of every 
subordinate Lodge. 



CHAPTER III. 
ST&e Officers of ar lolige, 

Hutchinson very properly says, that in our insti- 
tution, some must of necessity rule and teach, and 
others learn to submit and obey.* Indeed, in all 
well-regulated associations, there exists this neces- 
sity of a government, which must consist of author- 
ity on the one part, and obedience on the other. 
Hence it is not to be supposed that a Lodge of 
Masons, which its disciples claim to be one of the 
most perfect of human institutions, would present 
an organization less calculated than that of any 
other society to insure the peace and harmony on 
which its welfare and perpetuity must depend. 
Accordingly a Masonic Lodge, which consists of a 
certain number of members, sufficient to carry out 
the design of the institution, and yet not so many 
as to create confusion, is governed by officers, to 
each of whom a particular duty is assigned. 

The number and the names of the officers differ, 

* " A Charge by the E- W. Master on resigning the chair." Preston 
subsequently incorporated the sentiment, and even the words in his Installa- 
tion service. Our modern ritual is indebted to Hutchinson for some of its 
best portions. 

15 



338 OFFICERS OF A LODGE. 

not only in the different rites, but also in different 
jurisdictions of the same rite. Thus the Grand 
Lodge of England requires, in addition to-the officers 
usually recognized in this country, another, who is 
called the " Inner Guard/' and permits the appoint- 
ment of a Chaplain and Master of Ceremonies, 
officers who are known in only some of the jurisdic- 
tions of America. The Grand Lodge of Scotland 
recognizes, among other officers, a " Depute Master" 
and a " Substitute Master," and there are a variety 
of titles to be found in the French and German 
Lodges which are not used in the York rite. 

The officers most usually to be found in an 
American Lodge are as follows : 

1. Worshipful Master. 

2. Senior Warden. 

3. Junior Warden. ' 

4. Treasurer. 

5. Secretary. 

6. Senior Deacon. 

7. Junior Deacon. 

8. Two Stewards. 

9. Tiler * 

Of these officers, the Worshipful Master, the two 
Wardens and the Tiler, are essential to any Lodge 
organization, and are consequently provided for by 
the Landmarks. The other offices are of more re- 
cent invention ; but we have no knowledge of any 

* There is a Chaplain also in many Lodges ; and although I have not 
placed such an officer in this list, I shall appropriate a section to the con- 
sideration of his functions. 



OFFICERS OF A LODGE. 339 

period at which. Lodges were not governed by a 
Master and two Wardens, and their portals secured 
from intrusion by the vigilance of a Tiler.* Ac- 
cordingly, however much the various rites and juris- 
dictions may differ in respect to the names and 
number of the subordinate officers, they all agree in 
requiring the four just named. 

It is a law of Masonry that these officers should 
be elected annually. All offices in Masonry are held 
by annual tenure, which is perhaps derived from the 
fact that the General Assembly of the craft was 
anciently held annually. This election must also 
be held in subordinate Lodges on the festival of 
St. John the Evangelist, or at some meeting imme- 
diately previous to it. It will be seen hereafter 
that the time of the election of the officers of a 
Grand Lodge varies in different jurisdictions ; but 
I do not know of any country in which the election 
of the officers of a subordinate Lodge is made at 
any other time of the year than the one just indi- 
cated. The Masonic year always and everywhere 
begins on the festival of St. John the Evangelist, or 
the 27th of December, and the officers commence 
the discharge of their functions on that day. The 
election must therefore take place at that time, or 
immediately before it, and if by any cause it has 
been neglected, it becomes necessary to obtain a 
dispensation from the Grand Master for holding 
one on a subsequent day. The authority vested in 
the Lodge by the warrant of constitution is to 

* See Landmarks 10 and 11, anie,\). 26. 



340 OFFICERS OF A LODuE. 

hold the election on the legal and spe/'ified day, 
and if it is held afterwards, as no power to 
order it exists in the Lodge, the authority mast be 
supplied by the dispensing prerogative of the Grand 
Masters- 
It has been supposed by some that when a mem- 
ber has been elected to occupy an office, he canno 
refuse to obey the call of his brethren ; and Dr. 
Dalcho expressly lays down the rule that " no Free- 
mason, chosen into any office, can refuse to serve, 
(unless he has before filled the same office,) without 
incurring the penalties established by the by-laws. /V f 
There is a great deal of looseness in this enuncia- 
tion of an important regulation ; for we are of 
course unable to say to what particular by-laws he 
refers. No such regulation is to be found in any 
of the Ancient Constitutions, and if contained in 
the by-laws of a particular Lodge, it is certainly con- 
trary to the voluntary spirit of the institution. 
Indecdjthe whole tenor of the lessons we are taught 
in Masonry is, that no one should accept an office 
unless he feels that he is fully competent to discharge 
its duties ; and hence, if an ignorant and unskillful 
brother were chosen to fill the office of a Warden, 
it should rather be the duty of the Lodge, -in further- 
ance of the principles of the institution, to dis- 
courage his acceptance of the trust, than to compel 
him, by the threatened infliction of a penalty, to 

* The nature and design of dispensations will be hereafter considered 
Tvhen 1 come to speak of ths prerogaives of a Grand Master, 
t Ahiman Rezon, 1822, p. 156. 



OFFICERS OF A LODGE. 341 

assume a position whose duties he was convinced 
that he could not discharge. 

The installation of the officers should follow as 
soon as possible after the election. The installation 
is the commission under which the officer elected is 
entitled to assume his office ; and by ancient usage it 
is held that the old officer retains the office until his 
successor is installed. Hence, as the term of office 
begins on the festival of St. John the Evangelist, 
it is evident that the installation, which always fol- 
lows the election, should take place on the same 
day, or immediately before it. If it has been un- 
avoidably postponed until after that day, a dispen- 
sation must be obtained from the Grand Officer foi 
performing it at any subsequent period. 

An office terminates in Masonry only in three 
ways — by the expiration of the term, by death, or by 
expulsion.* Suspension does not vacate an office, 
but simply suspends the office-bearer from the privi- 
lege of discharging the duties of the office, and 
restoration immediately restores him to the enjoy- 
ment of all the prerogatives of his office. 

It is now held by a large majority of authorities 
that an officer, after having once accepted of instal- 
lation, cannot resign the office to which he has beei: 
elected. And this seems to be in accordance with 
reason ; for, by the installation, the officer promises 
to discharge the functions of the office for the con 

* The Grand Lodge of New York (Const. 1854, § 39) adds resignation 
removal beyond the jurisdiction and suspension. I have assigned, in the text 
the reasons why I :annot assent to this doctrine. 



342 OFFICERS OF A LODGE. 

stitutiona] period, and a resignation would be a 
violation of his oath of office, which no Lodge 
should be willing to sanction. So, too, when an 
officer has removed from the jurisdiction, although 
it may be at the time with an intention never to re- 
turn, it is impossible, in the uncertainty of human 
events, to say how far that intention will be ful- 
filled, and the office must remain vacant until the 
next regular period of election. In the mean time 
the duties are to be discharged by the temporary 
appointment, by the Master, of a substitute ; for, 
should the regularly elected and installed officer 
change his intention and return, it would at once 
become not only his privilege but his duty to resume 
the discharge of the functions of his office. 

In the case of any of the offices, except those of 
the Master or Wardens, death or expulsion, which, 
it will be remembered, is Masonic death, completely 
vacates the office, and an election may be held, pro- 
vided a dispensation has been obtained from the 
Grand Master for that purpose. But this rule does 
not refer to the Master or Wardens ; for it is now 
held that on the death of any one of these, the in- 
ferior officer assumes the duties of the office ; and 
no election can be held, even by dispensation, to 
supply the vacancy until the regular period. But 
this subject will be more fully discussed when I 
come to the consideration of the duties of those 
respective officers. 



WOUSHIPFUL MASTER. 843 



SECTION I. 

THE WORSHIPFUL MASTER. 

In the whole series of offices recognized by the 
Masonic institution, there is not one more important 
than that of the Master of a Lodge, Upon the 
skill, integrity and prudence of the presiding officer 
depend the usefulness and welfare of the Lodge, and 
as Lodges are the primary assemblages of the craft, 
and by representation constitute the supreme tri- 
bunal or Grand Lodge, it is evident that the errors 
of government in the primary bodies must, if not 
duly corrected, be productive of evil to the whole 
fraternity. Hence, in the ceremony of installation, 
it was required, as a necessary qualification of him 
who was proposed to the Grand Master as the pre- 
siding officer of a Lodge, that he should be " of good 
morals, of great skill, true and trusty, and a lover 
of the whole fraternity, wheresoever dispersed over 
the face of the earth,"* And it was on such a 
recommendation that it was to be presumed that he 
would " discharge the duties of the office with 
fidelity." 

It is proper that such stringent qualifications 
should be required of one whose duties are so exten- 
sive, and whose rights and prerogatives are so su 
preme as those of the Master of a Lodge. But 

* Such is the language of the Installation service used in 1723 by the Duke 
of Wharton See the first edition of Anderson's Book of Constitutions, 
page 71. 



J44 WORSHIPFUL MASTER. 

« 

these duties and prerogatives are so numerous and 
so complicated that the importance of the subject 
requires that each one should receive a separate 
consideration. 

1. The first and most important prerogative of 
the Master is to preside over his Lodge. With this 
prerogative are connected many correlative duties, 
which may be most properly discussed at the same 
time. 

As a presiding officer, the Master is possessed of 
extraordinary powers, which belong to the presiding 
officer of no other association. He presides over 
the business, as well as the work or Masonic labors 
of the Lodge ; and in all cases his decisions on 
points of order are final, for it is a settled principle 
of Masonic law that no appeal can be taken to the 
Lodge from the decision of the Master. The Grand 
Lodge alone can overrule his declared opinion on 
any point of order. But this subject has already 
been fully discussed in a preceding part of this 
work, and to that the. reader is referred.* 

The Master has the right to convene his Lodge 
at any time, and is the judge of any emergency that 
may require a special meeting. f Without his con- 
sent, except on the nights of the stated or regular 
communications, the Lodge cannot be congregated, 
and therefore any business transacted at a called or 

* See ante p. 239. 

f " The Master of a particular Lodge has the right and authority of con- 
gregating the members of his Lodge into a chapter at pleasure, upon any 
emergency or occurrence, as well as to appoint the time and place of then 
asual forming." — Regulations of 1721, Reg. ii., Akderson, p. 59. 



WORSHIPFUL MASTER. 345 

special communication, without his sanction or con- 
sent, would be illegal and void. 

Even at the regular communications of the Lodge, 
if the Master 1 e present, the time of opening is left 
to his discretion, for no one can take from the Mas- 
ter his prerogative of opening the Lodge. But if 
he be absent when the hour of opening which is 
specified in the by-laws has arrived, the Senior 
Warden, if present, and if not, then the Junior may 
open the Lodge, and the business transacted will be 
regular and legal, even without the Master's sanc- 
tion ; for it was his duty to be present, and he can- 
not take advantage of his own remissness of duty to 
interfere with the business of the Lodge.* 

The selection of the time of closing is also vested 
in the Master. He is the sole judge of the proper 
period at which the labors of the Lodge should be 
terminated, and may suspend business, even in the 
middle of a debate, if he supposes that it is expe- 
dient to close the Lodge. Hence, no motion for 
adjournment, or to close, or to call off from labor to 
refreshment, can ever be .admitted in a Masonic 

* On this subject, Bro. J. F. Townsend, Deputy Grand Master of Ireland, 
makes the following remarks : " It is unfair to call men from their occupa- 
tions and pursuits without good reason ; and the goodness of the reason 
must be left to the Master's decision. Certainly the Secretary has no right 
to convoke the Lodge on emergency, at his own pleasure ; but as the Master, 
as well as all the members, is bound by the by-laws, which also provide for the 
regular meetings, the Secretary need not obtain his permission to issue sum- 
monses for them. And I think that if the Master were to die or be expelled, 
the Wardens might convoke the Lodge, since there would then be no Master, 
and they, as well as he, are intrusted with the government of it/' The duty 
of the Master in the government of a Masonic Lodge — See American 
Quart. Eev. of Freemasonry , vol. i p. 19G. 

15* 



346 WORSHIPFUL MASTER. 

Lodge. Such a motion would be an interference 
with the prerogative of the Master, and could not 
therefore be entertained. 

This prerogative of opening and. closing his 
Lodge is necessarily vested in the Master, because, 
by the nature of our institution, he is responsible to 
the Grand Lodge for the good conduct of the body 
over which he presides. He is charged, in those 
questions to which he is required to give his assent 
at his installation, to hold the Landmarks in venera- 
tion, and to conform to every edict of the Grand 
Lodge ; and for any violation of the one or disobedi- 
ence of the other by the Lodge, in his presence, he 
would be answerable to the supreme Masonic au- 
thority. Hence the necessity that an arbitrary 
power should be conferred upon him, by the exer- 
cise of which he may at any time be enabled to 
prevent the adoption of resolutions, or the commis- 
sion of any act which would be subversive of, or 
contrary to, those ancient laws and usages which he 
has sworn to maintain and preserve. 

From the principle that the Master, when present, 
must always preside over his Lodge, arises the rule 
that a Masonic Lodge can never, under any circum- 
stances, be resolved into a committee of the whole. 
" Committees of the whole," says Bro. B. B. French, 
who is able authority on the Parliamentary law of 
Masonry, " are utterly out of place in a Masonic 
body. Lodges can only do business with the Mas- 
ter in the chair ; for, let who will preside, he is, 
while occupying the chair, Master — invested with 



WORSHIPFUL MASTER. 347 

supreme command, and emphatically ' governs the 
Lodge.' Any committee presupposes a ' chairman/ 
and no Freemason would feel at home were he pre- 
sided over by a ' chairman.' This single fact is 
conclusive ; and yet," adds Bro. French, " I have 
seen, in my day, a Masonic body pretending to be 
in committee of the whole. I raised my voice 
against it, and believe I convinced my brethren that 
they were wrong. "* 

2. It is the prerogative of the Master, with his 
Wardens, to represent his Lodge in the communica- 
tions of the Grand Lodge. Originally the whole 
craft were not only permitted but required to be 
present at the General Assembly, which was an- 
nually held ;f and every member of a Lodge was in 
this way a member of that body, and was able, by 
his personal presence, to protect his rights and those 
of his brethren. But soon after the beginning of 
the last century, it being found inconvenient to con- 
tinue such large assemblages of the fraternity, the 
Lodges placed their rights in the protecting care of 
their Masters and Wardens, and the Grand Lodge 
has ever since been a strictly representative body, 
consisting of the Masters and Wardens of the seve- 
ral Lodges in the jurisdiction.:]: 

* Application of Parliamentary law to the government of Masonic bodies. 
B. B. Frexch — Amer. Quart. Rev. of Freemasonry , vol. i. p. 323. 

t " Every Master and Fellow shall come to the assembly, if it be within 
fifty miles of him." — Ancient Charges at Makings ; see ante p. 52. 

X The constitution of the Masonic Order has always been of a strictly de- 
mocratic form. At first it was the pure democracy of the ancients, in which 
every freeman had a voice in the government. Now it has assumed the 



348 WORSHIPFUL MASTER. 

As the Grand Lodge is the supreme tribunal of 
the jurisdiction — as all its decisions on points of 
Masonic law are final — and as there can be no ap- 
peal from its judgments — it is evident that it is 
highly important that every Lodge should be repre- 
sented in its deliberations. The Master and Ward- 
ens become, like the old Roman Consuls, invested 
with the care of seeing that their constituents re- 
ceive no detriment. It is essential, therefore, that 
one of them at least, and the Master more particu- 
larly, should be present at every communication of 
the Grand Lodge ; and accordingly the observance 
of this duty is explicitly inculcated upon the Master 
at his installation into office.* 

3. Another prerogative of the Master of a Lodge 
is that of controlling the admission of visitors. lie 
is required by his installation charge to see that no 
visitors be received without passing a due examina- 
tion and producing proper vouchers ;f and this 
duty he cannot perform' unless the right of judging 
of the nature of that examination and of those 
vouchers be solely vested in himself, and the dis- 
cretionary power of admission or rejection be placed 
in his hands. The Lodge cannot, therefore, inter- 
modern form, in which the power of legislation is delegated to responsible 
representatives. 

* " You promise regularly to attend the committees and communications 
of the Grand Lodge, on receiving proper notice." — Ritual of Installation. 
Preston, p. 74- ; Webb, 1812, p. 97. 

f " You agree that no visitors shall be received into the Lodge, without 
passing under due examination, and producing proper vouchers of a regular 
initiation."- -Ritual Prestos p. 75 : Webb, p. 98. 



WORSHIPFUL MASTEIi. 349 

fero with this prerogative, nor can the question be 
put to it whether a particular visitor shall he ad- 
mitted. The Master is, in all such cases, the sole 
judge, without appeal from his decision.* 

4. Coincident with this power of admitting or 
excluding a visitor from another Lodge, is that of 
refusing or consenting to the admission of a mem- 
ber. The ritual of opening expressly says that 
none shall " pass or repass but such as are duly 
qualified and have the Worshipful Master 7 s permis- 
sion ;" and if the prerogative of refusing admission 
to a brother hailing from another Lodge is vested 
solely in the Master, that he may be enabled, by 
this discretionary power, to maintain the by-laws 
and regulations of the Order, and preserve the har- 
mony of the Lodge, it seems evident that he should 
be possessed of equal power in respect to his own 
members, because it may happen that the admission 
even of a member might sometimes create discord, 
and if the Master is aware that such would be the 
result, it must be acknowledged that he would be 
but exercising his duty in refusing the admission of 
such a member. But as this prerogative affects, in 
no slight degree, the rights of membership, which 
inure to every Mason who has signed the by-laws, it 
should be exercised with great caution ; and where 
a member has been unjustly, or without sufficient 
cause, deprived of the right of visiting his own 
Lodge, there can be no question that he has the 
right of preferring charges against the Master in 

* See ante p. 203, where this subject is discussed. 



350 WORSHIPFUL MASTER 

the Grand Lodge, whose duty it is to punish every 
arbitrary or oppressive exercise of prerogative. 

5. It is the prerogative of the Master to take 
charge of the warrant of constitution. This instru- 
ment, it has already been observed, is the evidence 
of the legality of the Lodge, and should always be 
placed upon the Master's pedestal while the Lodge 
is open. During the recess of the Lodge, it is con- 
structively supposed to be in the Master's personal 
possession, although, for the sake of convenience 
and safety, it is most generally deposited in the 
Lodge room. The Master is, however, always re- 
sponsible for it, and if demanded by the Grand 
Lodge, it is of him that the demand must be made, 
and he alone is responsible for its production. In 
like manner, when going out of office, he must de- 
liver it to Lis successor, who is to retain charge of 
it under the same regulations ; for the Master of 
the Lodge is always the proper custodian of the 
warrant of constitution. 

6. The appointing power constitutes an important 
prerogative of the Master of a Lodge. In England, 
he appoints all the officers, except the Treasurer 
and Tiler ; but in this country the power of appoint- 
ment is restricted to that of the Senior Deacon, and 
in some Lodges, of the Tiler. As the Senior Deacon 
is the proxy of the Master in the discharge of his 
duties,* there seems to be a peculiar propriety in 

* " R is yonr province to attend on the Master and Wardens, and to act 
as their pioxies in the active duties of the Lodge." — Charge at the installa 
iion of the Deacons. Webb, p. 104. 



WORSHIPFUL MASTER. 351 

placing the selection of that officer in his hands, and 
for a similar reason, it is advisable that he should 
also have the appointment of the Tiler. 

The Master has also the prerogative of appointing 
all special committees, and is entitled to be present 
at their meetings, and when present, to act as chair- 
man. This usage seems to be derived from the 
principle that wherever Masons congregate together 
on Masonic business, the Master is entitled to 
govern them and to direct their labors.* 

The Master of the Lodge has also the right, dur- 
ing the temporary absence of any officer, to appoint 
a substitute for the meeting. It has been supposed 
by some that this power of appointment is restricted 
to the elective officers, and that during the absence 
of the Junior Deacon, the Junior pro temjoore must 
be appointed by the Senior Warden ; and in like 
manner, during the absence of any one of the 
Stewards, the substitute must be appointed by the 
Junior Warden. And this opinion is founded on 
the doctrine that as the permanent Junior Deacon 
and Stewards are respectively appointed by the 
Senior and Junior Wardens, their temporary substi- 
tutes must be appointed by the same officers ; but 
if this argument were good, then, as the Wardens 
themselves are elected by the Lodge, it would fol- 
low, by a parity of reasoning, that in the absence 
of either of these officers, the substitute could not 
be appointed by the Master, but must be elected by 
the Lodge. In case of the death of a Junior Deacon. 

* See Axdekson first edition, p. 52. 



ao'A WOESHIEFUL MASTER. 

where a dispensation for tlic appointment of a new 
cii-3 has been granted, it is evident that that appoint- 
ment "would vest in the Senior Warden : bat all 
temporary appointments are exclusively made by 
the Worshipful Master, for the appointing power is 
one of his prerogatives. 

7. The Master has one vote in all questions, as 
every other member, and, in addition, a casting- 
vote, if there be a tie. This usage, which is very 
general, owes its existence, in all probability, to the 
fact that a similar privilege is, by the Regulations 
of 1721, enjoyed by the Grand Master in the Grand 
Lodge, I cannot, however, find a written sanction 
for the usage in any of the Ancient Constitutions, 
and am not prepared to say that the Master pos- 
sesses it by inherent right. The local regulations 
of some jurisdictions explicitly recognize the prero- 
gative, while others are silent on the subject. I 
know of none that denies it in express words. I am 
disposed to believe that it has the authority of 
ancient usage, and confess that I am partial to it, on 
mere grounds of expediency, while the analogy of 
the Grand Master's similar prerogative gives it a 
show of authority. 

8. No one is eligible to election as the Master of 
a Lodge, unless he has previously served in the 
office of Warden. The authority for this doctrine 
is to be found in the Charges approved in 1722, 
which say that no onfi can be a Master " until he 
has acted as a Warden." It does not seem to be 
necessary that the Master elect should have served 



WORSHIPFUL MASTER. 353 

in the capacity of a Warden, in the Lodge over 
which he is called to preside. The fact of having 
once filed a Warden's chair in any other Lodge 
will meet all the requisitions of the law ;*" for it is 
a settled principle that when a brother affiliates in 
a new Lodge, he carries with him all the official 
rights which he had previously possessed in the 
Lodge to which he formerly belonged. If he was a 
Past Master or a Past Warden in the one, he re- 
tains in the other all the prerogatives which were 
acquired by such a position, 

There are two exceptions to the rule requiring 
preparatory service in a Wardenship, in which a 
Mason may be elected to the office of Master, with- 
out having previously passed through that of a 
Warden. The first of these is in the case of a new 
Lodge, which has just received a warrant of consti- 
tution from the Grand Lodge, and in which the 
officers are, for the first time, to be installed. Here 
it is not considered necessary that the new Master 
should have previously served as a Warden. The 
second case is where, even in an old Lodge, neither 
of the Wardens, nor any one who has previously 
filled the office of Master or Warden, will consent 
to serve as presiding officer. As this is strictly a 
case of emergency, in* which the usage must be ne- 
glected, or the Lodge cease to act for want of a 

* In the second edition of thu Constitutions, published in 173,8, by Ander- 
son, in which he very materially altered the phraseology of these Charges 
from that contained in the edition of 1723, he expressly states this principle 
by the addition of a sing'e but important word. His language is : " till he 
has acted as Warden somewhere" — Second edit., p. 145. 



o54 WORSHIPFUL MASTER. 

Master, it Las been thought advisable to permit the 
Lodge, under such circumstances, to elect a Master 
from the floor. But as this is an infringement of 
the regulations, it is necessary that the Grand Mas- 
ter should legalize the act by issuing his dispensa- 
tion to authorize the irregularity.* 

9. The Master is eligible to re-election as often 
as the Lodge may choose to confer that honor on 
him. This is the invariable usage of this country, 
and I refer to it only because in England a different 
rule prevails. There the Master, after having 
served for two years, is ineligible to office until 
after the expiration of a year, except by dispensa- 
tion ; but no such regulation has ever existed, at 
least within my recollection, in America. 

10. It is the prerogative of the Master of a Lodge 
to receive from his predecessor the Past Master's 
degree at the time of his installation. The subject 
of this degree has already been so fully discussed in 
the appropriate place, that nothing now remains to 
be considered, except the very important question 
whether ii is essential that the Master elect should 
be invested with the degree of Past Master before 
he can exercise the functions of his office. 

In the discussion of this question, it must be borne 

* Anderson, in his edition of 1738, alludes to both these cases ; for, after 
stating the general law, he says : " except in extraordinary cases, or' when 
a Lodge is to be formed where none such can be had ; for then three Master 
Masons, though never Masters or Wardens of Lodges before, may be consti- 
tuted Master and Wardens of that new Lodge"— p. 145. Whatever may be 
said of the authority of this second edition this at least shows what was th$ 
usage in 173P. 



WORSEIPFUL MASTER. 60& 

in mind that the degree of Past Master constitutes 
a specified part of the ceremony of installation of 
the elected Master of a Lodge. No Master is 
deemed to be regularly installed until he has re- 
ceived the degree. This is the ceremony which in 
England, and sometimes in this country, is called 
" passing the chair." The earliest written authori- 
ties always refer to it. Anderson alludes to it, in 
all probability, in his description of the Duke of 
Wharton's method of constituting a Lodge ; Pres- 
ton says distinctly that the new Master is " to be 
conducted into an adjacent room, where he is regu- 
larly installed ;" and Oliver, commenting on this 
passage, adds, that " this part of the ceremony can 
only be orally communicated, nor can any but in- 
stalled Masters be present."* 

This portion of the installing ceremony consti- 
tutes the conferring of the Past Master's degree, 
It is, in fact, the most important and essential part 
of the installation service ; but the law of Masonry 
prescribes that no one shall exercise the preroga- 
tives of the office to which he has been elected, until 
he has been regularly installed. Now, if the con- 
ferring of the Past Master's degree composes a 
necessary part of the ceremony of installation — and 
of this it seems to me that there can be no doubt — 
then it follows, as a natural deduction, that until 
the Master elect has received that degree, he has no 
right to preside over his Lodge. This decision, 
however, of course does not apply to the Master of 

* Preston. Oliver's cd. p. 7fi. 



356 WORSHIPFUL MASTER. 

a Lodge under dispensation, who, as the special 
proxy of the Grand Master, and deriving all his 
powers immediately from that high officer, as well 
as exercising them only for a specific purpose, is 
exonerated from the operation of the rule. Nor 
is it requisite that the degree should be a second 
time conferred on a Master who has been re- 
elected, and who at his previous installation had 
received it, although a number of years may have 
elapsed. When once conferred, its effects are for 
life. 

Now, as it is the duty of every Mason to oppose 
the exercise by any person of the functions and pre- 
rogatives of an office until he has been legally in- 
stalled, the question here suggests itself, how shall 
a Master Mason, not being himself in possession of 
the degree, know when it has not been conferred 
upon a Master elect ? To this the reply is, that if 
the elected Master attempts to assume the chair, 
without having undergone any semblance of an in- 
stallation, the greater part of which, it will be re- 
collected, is performed before the members of the 
Lodge, it must follow that he cannot have received 
the Past Master's degree, which constitutes a part 
of the ceremony of installation. But if he has been 
installed, no matter how carelessly or incorrectly, it 
is to be presumed that the degree has been confer- 
red and the installation completed, unless positive 
evidence be furnished that it has not, because in 
Masonry as in law, the maxim holds good that 
" all things shall be presumed to have been done 



WORSHIPFUL MASTER. 357 

legally and according to form until the contrary be 
proved."* 

11. The last prerogative of a Master of a Lodge 
to which I shall allude is that of exemption from 
trial by his Lodge, on charges preferred against 
him. The Grand Lodge alone has any penal juris- 
diction over him. There is now, I believe, no doubt 
of the correctness of this decision, although the 
reason assigned for it is not, in my opinion, the cor- 
rect one. The incompetency of a Lodge to try its 
Master, and his right to trial by the Grand Lodge 
only, is generally based on the legal axiom that 
every man is entitled to a trial by his peers.t But 
how are we to apply this axiom to the case of the 
Master of a Lodge ? Is he entitled to trial by the 
Grand Lodge because he is a member of that body ? 
He derives this membership from his representative 
position only, and that representative position he 
shares with the two Wardens, who are equally 
members of the Grand Lodge, and who, if tile 
principle were legitimately carried out, would be 
equally entitled to trial by the Grand Lodge, as 

* Omnia prsesumuntur legitime facta donee probetar in ccntrarium. "Where 
acts are of an official nature," says Broom, {Leg. Max. 729) " or require 
the concurrence of official persons, a presumption arises in favor of their 
due execution." This is peculiarly applicable to the point discussed in the 
text. 

f Thus the Constitution of the Grand Lodge of New York says : " Every 
Mason must be tried by his peers, and hence the Master cannot be tried by 
his Lodge." — § 8, s. 21. But if this be true, the Master can only be tried by 
a convention of Masters ; for neither Past Masters nor Wardens, who assist 
in composing the Grand Lodge, are his peers, in an official sense — the onbj 
one in which, I suppose, the word can with any propriety be used. 



358 WORSHIPFUL MASTER. 

their peers. We must look, therefore, somewhere 
else for the cause of this peculiar privilege enjoyed 
by Masters, and Masters alone, for Wardens are 
amenable to trial in their Lodges. We shall find 
it then in the peculiar relation existing between the 
Master and his Lodge — a relation which no other 
officer or member occupies. Under no circumstances 
whatever can he be deprived of his right, when 
present, to preside over his Lodge ; and whenever 
the Lodge is exercising judicial functions, and is 
engaged in the trial of an accused member, the 
Master, virtute officii, becomes the presiding Judge. 
No one can deprive him of this position ; he has. in 
fact, no right to yield it to any other, for he alone 
is responsible to the Grand Lodge that the Lodge 
shall, in the transaction of such grave business, con- 
line itself within the limits of law and equity. 
Now, if he were himself on trial, his presence would 
be necessary. Being present, he would have to as- 
sume the chair, and thus the anomalous spectacle 
would be presented of a Judge presiding in his own 
trial. Such a spectacle would be shocking to our 
sense of justice, and could not for a moment be per- 
mitted.* And yet, if the Master is to be tried by 
his own Lodge, there is no possible way of avoiding 
it. On this account alone, therefore, it was neces- 
sary to find some other tribunal which should act as 

* " It is a fundamental rule in the administration of justice that a person 
cannct be judge in a cause wherein he is interested.'" — Broom. Legal 
Maxims, p. 84. This is precisely the rule which prevents the trial of a Mas- 
ter by his Lodge. Nemo debet esse judex in propria sua causa, says the 
maxim of law. 



WORSHIPFUL MASTER. 359 

a court in the trial of a Master, and the Grand 
Lodge sieems in all respects to be the most appro- 
priate. This body has therefore been selected as 
the proper court for the trial of Masters, not be- 
cause it is composed of the peers of these officers — 
for this it is not, as many of its members are only 
Wardens — but because it is not practicable to try 
tli em anywhere else. 

But it will sometimes happen that the offences of 
the Master are of such a nature as to require imme- 
diate action, to protect the character of the insti- 
tution and to preserve the harmony of the Lodge. 
The Grand Lodge may not be in session, and will 
not be for some months, and in the mean time the 
Order is to be protected from the evil effects that 
would arise from the continuance of a "bad Master 
in office. The remedy provided by the usages of 
the institution for such an evil are of a summary 
nature. The Grand Master is, in an extraordinary 
case like this, invested with extraordinary powers, 
and may suspend the Master from office until the 
next communication of the Grand Lodge, when he 
will be subjected to a trial. In the mean time the 
Senior Warden will assume the office and discharge 
the functions of the Master.* In New Yoik, the 

* Thus the Com. of For. Corres. of the Grand Lodge of Tennessee, in 1845, 
said : " The proper course to be pursued when a Master so far forgets the 
dignity of his office, and the duties he owes to himself and the brethren, is tc 
petition the Grand Master for a suspension of the offending Master from 
office, until the next meeting of the Grand Lodge, when charges may be pre- 
ferred, and such punishment inflicted as the heinousness of the offence shall 
merit. In this case the functions and duties of the Master devolve upon the 



380 WORSHIPFUL MASTER. 

Grand Master immediately appoints in such a case 
a commission of seven, who must be not lower in 
rank than Wardens, and who try the question and 
make up their decision, which is final, unless an ap- 
peal is taken from it, within six months, to the 
Grand Lodge.* This, however, is a local regula- 
tion, and where it, or some other satisfactory mode 
of action is not prescribed by the Constitution of a 
Grand Lodge, the Grand Master may exert his pre- 
rogative of suspension under the general usage or 
common law of Masonry. 

Invested with such important prerogatives, it is 
to be expected that the qualifications required of 
such an officer must be in a corresponding degree. 
The Master of a Lodge is, in fact, he who, as his 
Latin name Magisier imports, should have, more 
than others, magis quam cceteris, the care and con- 
trol of those over whom he has been placed, and 
who, with more of power, should also be distin- 
guished by more of virtue and more of wisdom than 
his brethren. " Those," says Festus, " are called 
Masters upon whom the chief care of things de- 
volves, and who, more than the others, should exer- 
cise diligence and solicitude in the matters over 
which they preside." 

The proper qualifications of the Master of a 

viext succeeding officer, the Senior Warden, until the accused shall be brought 
to trial, and acquitted or condemned." This is perhaps the highest preroga- 
tive that the Grand Master possesses, and I need scarcely say that it should 
be exercised with the utmost caution, and resorted to orly with great 
reluctance. 
* Const G. L. of New York, § 54. 



WORSHIPFUL MASTER. 361 

Lodge are laid down in the installation service as 
follows : He is required to "be " of good morals, of 
great skill, true and trusty, and a lover of the whole 
fraternity." There is much significance in this 
language : it portrays the qualifications of a Master 
under the three-fold heads of moral, intellectual, 
and social. 

He is required, in the first place, to be " of good 
morals." The teacher of the principles of virtue 
and morality, which it is the design of Freemasonry 
to inculcate, should himself be, if not an admirable 
pattern, at least not a notorious transgressor of 
those principles ; for, as a distinguished member of 
the craft (Dr. Townsend, the Deputy Grand Master 
of Ireland,) has remarked : " The most elegant 
homily against those vices for which the preacher is 
distinguished, falls dead upon the ear ; the most 
graceful eulogy of virtue is but disgusting in the 
lips of a man whose conduct gives the lie direct to 
his words ; but he who teaches good by example, 
will ever be listened to with respect"* 

But the Master is not only a teacher of his 
brethren, but he is their representative to the world, 
and it becomes peculiarly his duty, by his own 
exemplary conduct, to impress the world at large 
with a favorable opinion of the institution in which 
he holds so high a position, and of which his own 
exemplary or unworthy conduct will be considered 

* Lecture on the duty of the Master. — Am. Quart. Rev. of Freemasonry, 
vol. i. p. 202. Thus, too, Aristotle says, " he who is to govern (the upxuv) 
must be perfect in (rjdina apery) moral virtue." — Pol. lib. i. cap. xiii. 

16 



362 WORSHIPFUL MASTER. 

by the uninitiated as a fair exponent. Mankind 
will very naturally presume that the members of a 
moral institution would hardly confer so important 
a trust upon an immoral or licentious brother, and 
they will judge of the nature and character of the 
Lodge by the behavior of its presiding officer. 

Intellectually, he must be " of great skill.' 7 Much 
stress is thus laid upon the mental qualifications. 
He who desires to be the Master of a Masonic 
Lodge, must not be satisfied with a moderate share 
of skill. His knowledge and attainments must be 
great. If he proposes to be a teacher, he must 
thoroughly comprehend the subject which he in- 
tends to teach, and by the fluency and readiness 
which education gives, be capable of communicating 
his instructions in a pleasing and impressive manner. 
"A man of education and talents," says Dalcho, 
"will elucidate with admirable beauty, perspicuity 
and interest, the origin and progress of the arts in 
different ages, the development of genius in the 
organization of our Order, and the adaptation of the 

system to the wants and happiness of man 

He will, in short, speak upon literary and scientific 
subjects as a Master ; he will understand what lie 
professes to teach, and consequently he will make 
himself understood by others. All will listen to 
him with delight, and all will be benefited by his 
instructions."* This passage was written nearly 
half a century ago, and since then the developments 
of the Masonic system in this country have required 

* Ahiman Rezon, 1822, p. 55. 



WORSHIPFUL MASTER. 363 

a still greater amount of intellectual qualification 
than has been described by Dalcho. An educated 
man, however well skilled in general literature and 
science, will make an incompetent Master of a Lodge, 
if he does not devote his attention to the peculiar 
science of our Order. If Masonry be, as it is de- 
fined, " a science of morality, clothed in allegory 
and illustrated by symbols," it is evident that a suc- 
cessful teacher (and the Master is, in an emphatic 
sense, a teacher) must qualify himself by a diligent 
investigation of these symbols and allegories — the 
myths and legends of Masonry — their mystical ap- 
plication, and the whole design of the institution 
in this, its most important feature, must constitute 
his study. 

Socially, that is, as a member and officer of a 
peculiar society, exclusive in its character, he must 
be " true and trusty, and a lover of the whole fra- 
ternity." Each of these indicates a particular 
quality ; his truth and fidelity will secure his obedi- 
ence to all the regulations of the Order — his observ- 
ance of its Landmarks and ancient usages — his 
opposition to all unwarrantable innovations. They 
will not only induce him to declare at his installa- 
tion, but to support his declaration during his whole 
term of office, that "it is not in the power of any 
man or body of men to make innovations in the 
body of Masonry." They are his guarantee that he 
will not violate the promises he has made of fidelity 
and obedience to the constituted authorities of the 
Order. 



364 WCRSHIPFUL MASTER. 

His love of the fraternity will be an evidence of 
his zeal and fervency in the cause — of his disposi- 
tion to cultivate all the benign principles of the 
institution, and to extend its blessings in every 
unobjectionable way. Where there is love, there 
must be reasonable service, and affection for the 
brethren will show its results in devotion to the 
association of which these brethren form a compo- 
nent part. 

But, besides these, there are other qualifications 
necessary to the Master of a Lodge, not so much as 
a teacher of Masonry, as in his capacity as a presid- 
ing officer. He should rule his brethren with love, 
rather than with force. He should exercise firmness 
with moderation ; cultivate a spirit of conciliation ; 
learn to subdue by mildness and urbanity the irri- 
tations which will too often arise in an angry de- 
bate ; and in the decision of every question which is 
brought before him, seek rather to establish the cor- 
rectness of his judgment by the persuasions of reason 
than to claim obedience by the force of authority. 
The office of a Master is one which should not too 
readily be sought, for its functions are not easily 
discharged. 

The Succession to the Chair. — This is perhaps the 
most appropriate time to discuss the important 
question of the succession to the chair — that is, to 
inquire upon whom the functions and authority of 
the presiding officer devolve, at the death, expulsion, 
or absence of the Master of the Lodge. 

Two principles seem now to be very generally 



WORSHIPFUL MASTER. 365 

admitted by the authorities on Masonic law, in con- 
nection with this subject. 

1. That in the temporary or permanent absence 
of the Master, the Senior Warden, or, in his ab- 
sence, the Junior, succeeds to the chair. 

2. That on the permanent removal of the Master 
by death or expulsion, there can be no election 
for a successor until the constitutional night of 
election. 

Let us inquire into the foundation of each of these 
principles. 

1. The second of the Regulations of 1721 is in 
these words : 

" In case of death or sickness, or necessary absence of the 
Master, the Senior Warden shall act as Master pro tempore, if 
no brother is present who has been Master of that Lodge 
before. For the absent Master's authority reverts to the 
last Master present, though he cannot act till the Senior Warden 
lias congregated the Lodge." 

The lines which I have placed in italics indicate 
that even at that time the power of calling the 
brethren together and " setting them to work," 
which is technically called " congregating the 
Lodge/' was supposed to be vested in the Senior 
Warden alone during the absence of the Master, 
although perhaps, from a supposition that he had 
greater experience, the difficult duty of presiding 
over the communication was entrusted to a Past 
Master. The regulation is, however, contradictory 
in its provisions ; for, if the " last Master present 1 ' 
could not act, that is, could not exercise the author- 



368 WORSHIPFUL MASTER. 

ity of the Master, until the Senior Warden had con- 
gregated the Lodge, then it is evident tnat the 
authority of the Master did not revert to him in an 
unqualified sense, for that officer required no such 
concert nor consent on the part of the Warden, but 
could congregate the Lodge himself. 

This evident contradiction in the language of the 
regulation probably caused, in a brief period, a 
further examination of the ancient usage, and ac- 
cordingly, on the 25th of November, 1723, a very 
little more than three years after, the following 
regulation was adopted : 

" If a Master of a particular Lodge is deposed or demits, 
the Senior Warden shall forthwith fill the Master's chair till 
the next time of choosing ; and ever since, in the Master's 
absence, he fills the chair, even though a former Master be 
present." 

The present Constitution of the Grand Lodge of 
England appears to have been formed rather in 
reference to the Regulation of 1721 than to that of 
1723. It prescribes that on the death, removal, or 
incapacity of the Master, the Senior Warden, or in 
his absence, the Junior Warden, or in his absence, 
the immediate Past Master, or in his absence, the 
Senior Past Master, " shall act as Master in sum- 
moning the Lodge, until the next election of offi- 
cers." But the English Constitution goes on to 
direct that " in the Master's absence, the immediate 
Past Master, or if he be absent, the Senior Past 
Master of the Lodge present shall take the chair. 
And if n^ Past Master of the Lodge be present, then 



WORSHIPFUL MASTER. 367 

the Senior Warden, or in his absence, the Junior 
Warden shall rule the Lodge."* 

Here again we find ourselves involved in the 
intricacies of a divided authority. The Senior 
Warden congregates the Lodge, but a Past Master 
rules it ; and if the Warden refuses to perform his 
part of the duty, then the Past Master will have no 
Lodge to rule. So that after all, it appears that of 
the two, the authority of the Senior Warden is the 
greater.! 

But in this country the usage has always con- 
formed to the Regulation of 1723, as is apparent 
from a glance at our rituals and monitorial works. 

Webb, in his " Freemason's Monitor," (edition of 
1808,) lays down the rule that "in the absence of 
the Master, the Senior Warden is to govern the 
Lodge ;'" and that officer receives annually, in every 
Lodge in the United States, on the night of his in- 
stallation, a charge to that effect. It must be re- 
membered, too, that we are not indebted to Webb 
himself for this charge, but that he borrowed it, 
word for word, from Preston, who wrote long be- 
fore, and who, in his turn, extracted it from the 
rituals which were in force at the time of his 
writing.^ 

* Const, of the G. L. of England, edit. 1847, p. 79. 

f The confusion which at one time existed in relation to the question of 
who should be the successor to the Master, seems to have arisen partly from 
the contradiction between the Regulations of 1721 and those of 1723, and 
partly from the contradiction in different clauses of the Regulation of 1723 
itself. 

+ " In my absence you are to rule the Lodge." — Pkeston, p. 79. " In th« 
absence of the Master, you are to govern this Lodge." — Webe, p. 102, 



388 WORSHIPFUL MASTER. 

In the United States, accordingly, it lias been 
held, that on the death or removal of the Master, 
his authority descends to the Senior Warden, who 
may, however, by courtesy, offer the chair to some 
Past Master who is present, after the Lodge has 
been congregated. 

2. In respect to the second principle, there is 
no difference of opinion among the authorities. 
Whether the Senior Warden or a Past Master is to 
succeed, the Regulation of 1721 makes no provision 
for an election, but implies that the vacancy shall 
be temporarily supplied during the official term, 
while that of 1723 expressly states that such tem- 
porary succession shall continue " till the next time 
of choosing," or, in the words of the present English 
Constitution, " until the next election of officers." 

But, in addition to the authority of the Ancient 
Regulation and general and uniform usage, reason 
and justice seem to require that the vacancy shall 
not be supplied permanently until the regular time 
of election. By holding the election at an earlier 
period, the Senior Warden is deprived of his right 
as a member, to become a candidate for the vacant 
office ; for the Senior Warden having been regularly 
installed, has of course been duly obligated to serve 
in the office to which he had been elected during 
the full term. If, then, an election takes place be- 
fore the expiration of that term, he must be excluded 
from the list of candidates, because if elected, he 
could not vacate his present office without a viola- 
tion of his obligation The same disability would 



WORSHIPFUL MASTER. 369 

affect the Junior Warden, who, by a similar obliga- 
tion, is bound to the faithful discharge of his duties 
in the south. So that by anticipating the election, 
the two most prominent officers of the Lodge, and 
the two most likely to succeed the Master in due 
course of rotation, would be excluded from the 
chance of promotion. A grievous wrong would 
thus be done to these officers, which it could never 
have been the intention of the law to inflict. 

But even if the Wardens were not ambitious of 
office, or were not likely, under any circumstances, 
to be elected to the vacant office, another objection 
arises to the anticipation of an election for Master, 
which is worthy of consideration. 

The Wardens, having been installed under the 
solemnity of an obligation to discharge the duties 
of their respective offices to the best of their ability, 
and the Senior Warden having been expressly 
charged that " in the absence of the Master he is to 
rule the Lodge," a conscientious Senior Warden 
might very naturally feel that he was neglecting 
these duties and violating this obligation, by per- 
mitting the office which he has sworn to temporarily 
occupy in the absence of his Master, to be perma- 
nently filled by any other person. 

On the whole, then, the Old Regulations, as well 
as ancient, uninterrupted and uniform usage, and 
the principles of reason and justice, seem impera- 
tively to require that on the death or removal of the 
Master, there shall be no election to supply the 
vacancy ; but that the authority of the absent Mas* 



370 WARDENS. 

ter shall be vested in the Senior Warden, and in his 
absence, in the Junior. 

In conclusion, it need scarcely be added that as 
this right to succeed the Master is a personal right, 
vested in the Wardens, no dispensation can issue to 
set it aside and to order an election ; for it is an 
undoubted principle of justice that the Grand Mas- 
ter has no prerogative to interfere, by his dispensing 
power, with the rights of individuals. 



SECTION II. 

THE WARDENS. 

Every Lodge has two officers, who are distin- 
guished as the Senior and Junior Wardens. The 
word is derived from the Saxon wearclian, " to 
guard or watch," and signifies therefore a guardian 
or watchman. The French and German titles for 
the same officers, which are surveillant in the former 
language, and aufseher in the latter, are equally 
significant, as they denote an overseer. The title is 
derived from the fact that in the old rituals these 
officers were supposed to sit at the two columns of 
the porch, and oversee or watch the Fellow Crafts 
and Apprentices — the Senior Warden overlooking 
the former, and the Junior Warden the latter. 
This ritual is still observed in the Lodges of the 
French rite* where the two Wardens sit in the 

* Thus Cla.vel : " A l'occident, des deuxcote"s la porte d'entree, s ? ele. 
vent deux colonnes de bronze. Sur la colonne de gaucha est traeee ; 



WARDENS. 371 

west, at what is supposed to be the pedestals of the 
two columns of the porch of the temple ; and in the 
York rite, although the allusion is somewhat im- 
paired by the removal of the Junior Warden to the 
south, they still retain on their pedestals miniature 
columns, the representatives of the temple pillars, 
and which in all processions they carry as the in- 
signia of their office.* 

The duties of the Senior Warden are very briefly 
described in the Installation service. They are, in 
the absence of the Master, to preside, and govern 
the Lodge ; in his presence, to assist him in the 
government of it.f 

In assisting the Master in the government of the 
Lodge, it is the duty of both officers to see that due 
silence is observed around their respective stations, 
and that the orders issued from the east are strictly 
obeyed. But most of their duties in their peculiar 
positions are of a ritualistic nature, and are either 
unnecessary or improper to be discussed in the 
present work. 

sur l'autre, on lit . Pres de la premiere, se place Ie premier surveillant, 

et pres, de la deuxieme, Is second surveillant." — Hist. Pittoresq. de la Franc- 
mag, p. 4. 

* These columns appear at one time to have been called " truncheons," 
and Oliver {Book of the Lodge, p. 116) quotes an inventory of the furniture 
belonging to a Lodge at Chester, (Eng.) taken in the year 1761, which men- 
tions among other things " two truncheons for the Wardens." 

t Lenning gives a more explicit recapitulation of the duties of these offi- 
cers. He says : " Their duties are to keep order and silence in the meeting, 
to repeat the commands of the Master, each from his station, and to see 
them obeyed." — Encyclopadie der Freimaurerei, in voce Aufseher. These 
are precisely their <Mies, as laid down in the American ritual. 



372 WARDENS. 

In the absence of the Master, the Senior Warden 
governs the Lodge. This is his inherent right, and 
has already been fully considered in the preceding 
section. He may, and often does, as a matter of 
courtesy, resign the chair to some Past Master 
present, but such Past Master always acts under the 
authority of the Warden, who has first to congre- 
gate the Lodge, that is, to call the brethren to labor, 
before he resigns the gavel of his authority into the 
hands of the Past Master. 

Within a few years, the very singular objection 
has been urged by some Masons that a Warden can- 
not preside and confer degrees unless he lias re- 
ceived the Past Master's degree.* Now, I know of 
no modern theory on Masonic law which has so 
little foundation in fact as this. The degree of 
Past Master is a necessary qualification of the Mas- 
ter of a Lodge, and without it, it is admitted that 
he cannot legally preside, not, however, because of 
any peculiar virtue or superior knowledge that the 
possession of the Past Master's degree confers, but 
because by the Landmarks, or certainly by very 

* In 1857, the Grand Master of Kentucky, Bro. T. N. Wise, made the 
following decision, which was sustained by the Grand Lodge: The Master 
and Senior Warden of a Lodge being absent, the Junior Warden took the 
chair, and conferred the second degree, notwithstanding several Past Mas- 
ters were present. The Master of the Lodge, at the next meeting, pro- 
nounced the action of the Junior Warden unmasonic. The Grand Master, 
however, approved his course, as being the constitutional ruler of the Lodge, 
in the absence of his two superiors ; and the Grand Lodge, of course, in so 
plain a case, sustained him. There was other matter involved in this 
case, but the real priniinle affected was the right of the Junior Warden U 
preside. 



WARDENS. 6 ( d 

ancient regulations, the conferring of that degree 
constitutes an essential part of the ceremony of in- 
stalling the Master of a Lodge. He is not legally 
installed until he has received the degree ; and not 
being installed, he cannot exercise the functions of 
his office. But there is no regulation making the 
reception of the Past Master's degree a necessary 
part of the installation of a Warden, and when, 
therefore, a Warden has been duly installed, he is 
entitled to preside and confer degrees in the absence 
of the Master. 

All the duties that devolve upon the Senior 
Warden, in the absence of the Master, devolve in 
like manner, and precisely to the same extent, upon 
the Junior Warden, in the absence of both the Mas- 
ter and the Senior. All that has been said of one 
officer, under such circumstances, is equally appli- 
cable to the other. 

But if the Master be present, and the Senior 
Warden absent, the Junior Warden does not assume 
the functions of the latter officer, but retains his 
own station, and a Senior Warden pro tempore must 
be appointed by the Master. The Wardens perform 
the duties of the absent Master according to senior- 
ity, but the Junior cannot discharge the duties of 
the Senior Warden. It must be remembered that a 
Warden acting as Master is still a Warden, and is 
so acting simply in the discharge of one of the 
duties of his office. The Senior Warden is bound 
to the performance of his duties, which are, in the 
presence of the Master, to superintend the west, and 



374 WARDENS. 

in his absence to preside. The Junior Warden, in 
like manner, is bound to the performance of his 
duties, which are, in the presence of the Master, to 
superintend the south, and in the absence of both 
Master and Senior Warden, to preside. The ab- 
sence of the Senior Warden has, therefore, no effect, 
upon the duties of the Junior Warden, unless the 
Master is also absent, when he takes the east. He 
is to supply the place, not of the absent Senior 
Warden, but of the absent Master.* 

Among the duties which formerly devolved upon 
the Junior Warden, was that of the examination of 
visitors. t This duty has now, much more appropri- 
ately, been intrusted to the Stewards. 

It is one of the ritualistic Landmarks that the 
Senior Warden presides over the craft during the 
hours of labor, and the Junior Warden during the 
hours of refreshment ; and in reference to this fact, 
it is the usage for the column of the Senior Warden 

* It is a little singular that neither Preston nor Webb allude, in the In- 
stallation service, to this duty of the Junior to preside, in the absence of his 
two superior officers. The second Regulation of 1721 only intimates it in the 
last clause. Dalcho (Ahiman Iiezon, p. 59J and Tannehill {Manual, p. 
237) are the only monitorial authorities. who state the law explicitly, but it is 
sanctioned by universal and uninterrupted usage. 

f " In a copy of the lectures which were used about the close of the 
eighteenth century, the Junior Warden's office, amongst other important 
matters, is said to include the examination of visitors." — Oliver, Book of 
the Lodge, p. 113. That and the introduction of candidates are specially in- 
trusted to the Junior Warden in the installation services of both Preston and 
Webb, but have long since been disused in this country. Cross, the first 
edition of whose " Chart" was published in 1819, and all the authors and 
compilers who have since followed him, Davis, Stewart, Tannehill, Maooy, 
&c, omit these duties from the charge given to the Junior Warden. 



WARDENS. 375 

to be standing, and that of the Junior to be lying 
down, while the Lodge is at work, and these posi- 
tions to be reversed when the Lodge is called off.* 
In consequence of the Junior Warden being 
placed over the craft during the hours of refresh- 
ment, and of his being charged at the time of his 
installation to see " that none of the craft be suffered 
to convert the purposes of refreshment into those 
of intemperance and excess, ;; t it has been very 
generally supposed that it is his duty, as the prose- 
cuting officer of the Lodge, to prefer charges against 
any member who, by his conduct, has made himself 
amenable to the penal jurisdiction of the Lodge. 
I know of no ancient regulation which imposes this 
unpleasant duty upon the Junior Warden ; but it 
does seem to be a very natural deduction from his 
peculiar prerogative as the custos morum or guardian 
of the conduct of the craft, that in all cases of vio- 
lation of the law he should, after due efforts towards 
producing a reform, be the proper officer to bring 
the conduct of the offending brother to the notice 
of the Lodge. 

* Preston (p. 80) says : " When the work of Masonry in the Lodge is 
carrying on, the column of the Senior Deacon is raised ; when the Lodge is 
at refreshment, the column of the Junior Deacon is raised." It will be seen 
by this that the columns, which, in the custom of this country, are, by a 
beautiful symbolism, placed in the hands of the Wardens, to indicate the 
hours of labor and refreshment, are, in the Prestonian work, without any 
meaning whatever, given to the Deacons. Webb thoughtlessly followed the 
system of Preston in this respect ; but it is doubtful whether he or any of his 
disciples ever worked by it. At least I can find no evidence, except the 
passage in Webb's charge to the Deacons, that columns were ever borne by 
those officers. 

+ Installation charge to the Junior Warden. 



376 WARDENS. 

One of the most important prerogatives of the 
Wardens is that of representing the Lodge Avith the 
Master at all communications of the Grand Lodge. 
This is a prerogative the exercise of which they 
should never omit, except under urgent circum- 
stances. A few Grand Lodges in the United States 
have disfranchised the "Wardens of this right, and 
confined the representation to the Master, but I 
cannot hesitate to say that this is not only a viola- 
tion of ancient regulations, but an infraction of -the 
inherent rights of the "Wardens and the Lodges. 
After the comparatively modern organization of 
Grand Lodges, in 1717, the craft as a body sur- 
rendered the prerogatives which belonged to every 
Mason of being present at the General Assembly, 
in the assurance that their rights and privileges 
would be sufficiently secured by the presence of 
their Masters and Wardens.* Hence, in the Regu- 
lations of 1721, which must be considered, according 
to the history given of them by Preston, in the light 
of a bill of rights, or fundamental constitution,*}* the 
Grand Lodge is expressly defined as consisting of 

* " Matters being thus amicably adjusted," says Preston, when speaking 
(f the organization of the Grand Lodge in 1717, "the brethren of the four 
old Lodges considered their attendance on the future communications of the 
Society as unnecessary, and therefore, like the other Lodges, trusted im- 
plicitly to their Master and Wardens, resting satisfied that no measure of 
importance would be adopted without their approbation." — Illustrations, 
p. 138, Ol. edit. 

f Preston says that the officers of the old Lodges, fearing that the ma- 
jority might " encroach upon, or even subvert the privileges of the original 
Masons of England, very wisely formed a code of laws for the future govern- 
ment of the Society ." — Ibid. p. 184. This code is what is known as tin 
Regulations of 1721, 



WARDENS. 377 

* tlie Masters and TV ardens of all the regular par- 
ticular Lodges upon record." The disfranchisement 
of the Wardens is, in fact, a disfranchisement of the 
Lodges and the establishment of a new form of 
Grand Lodge, unknown to the Ancient Consti- 
tutions. 

Another prerogative of the Wardens is their eligi- 
bility to election as Master.. It has already been 
seen that no Mason can be chosen Master unless he 
has previously served in the office of Warden, ex- 
cept in the case of new Lodges, or of emergencies, 
where no Warden, Past Warden, or Past Master 
will consent to serve. This eligibility to the chair 
is not confined to the Wardens then in office, for 
any brother who has ever filled that station retains 
for ever his eligibility. It is a right that is affected 
by no lapse of time. 

The prerogative of appointment which is vested 
in these officers is limited. The Senior Warden has 
the right of appointing the Junior Deacon, and 
the Junior Warden that of appointing the two 
Stewards. 

If the Master and both Wardens be absent, the 
Lodge cannot be opened, because the warrant of 
constitution is granted to the Master and Wardens, 
and their successors, and to none else. In 1857, 
during the absence of the Master and Wardens of a 
Lodge in Kentucky, a Past Master of the Lodge as- 
sumed the chair, appointed proxies for the Wardens, 
and proceeded to transact business. Upon an ap- 
peal from the Master of the Lodge, the Grand Mas- 



378 WARDENS. 

ter declared the acts of the Lodge to be illegal and 
of no effect. There can be no doubt that this de- 
cision was correct, according to the Regulations of 
1721 ; for, although a Past Master may preside, by 
the courtesy of a Warden, he holds his authority, 
according to these Regulations, under the Warden, 
and cannot act until that officer has congregated 
the Lodge. At the opening of the Lodge at least, 
therefore, the Masier or a Warden must be present, 
and if Master and Wardens are all absent, the 
Lodge cannot be opened. 

If, however, the Lodge is congregated by the 
Warden, and he places a Past Master in the chair, 
and then retires, I am inclined to think that the 
labors or business of the Lodge may be legally con- 
tinued, notwithstanding the absence of the Warden, 
for he has complied with the requisitions of the law, 
and congregated the Lodge. It is a right belong- 
ing to the Warden to invite a Past Master to pre- 
side for him, and if, after exercising that right, he 
then retires, the Past Master will continue to act as 
his representative. But the Warden will be re- 
sponsible for the acts of the Past Master ; for, if 
anything is done irregularly, it may be well said 
that the Warden should have been there to correct 
the irregularity when it occurred. I confess, how- 
ever, that this is a res non judicata — a question that 
has not been even discussed, so far as I am aware, 
by any Masonic authority. 



TREASURER. 379 

SECTION III. 

THE TREASURER. 

Although this officer takes no part in the ritual 
or ceremonial labors of the Lodge, yet the due ad- 
ministration of his duties is closely connected with 
its welfare. He is the financial officer or banker of 
the Lodge ; and to prevent the possibility of any 
collusion between himself and the presiding officer, 
the Constitutions of England, while they give the 
appointment of all the other officers to the Master, 
have prudently provided that the Treasurer shall 
be elected by the Lodge. 

The duties of the Treasurer, as detailed in the 
Installation service, and sanctioned by universal 
usage, are threefold : 

1. He is to receive all moneys due the Lodge from 
the Secretary. 

2. He is to make due entries of the same. 

3. He is to pay them out at the order of the 
Master, and with the consent of the Lodge. 

As the banker simply of the Lodge, he has nothing 
to do with the collections which should be made by 
the Secretary, and handed over to him. These 
funds he retains in his hands, and disburses them by 
the order of the Lodge, which must be certified to 
him by the Master. His accounts, so far as the re- 
ceipts of money are concerned, are only with the 
Secretary. Of his disbursements, of course, he 
keeps a special account. His accounts should be 



880 TREASURER. 

neatly and accurately kept, and be always ready for 
the inspection of the Lodge or of the Master. 

As his office, as custodian of the funds of the 
Lodge, is a responsible one, it has been usual to re- 
quire of him a bond for the faithful discharge of his 
duties ; so that, in case of failure or defalcation, the 
Lodge may not become the loser of its property. 

For all the funds he receives from the Secretary 
he should give a receipt to that officer, and should 
take receipts from all persons to whom he pays 
money. These last receipts become his vouchers, 
and his books should be examined, and the entries 
compared with the vouchers, at least once a year, by 
a committee of the Lodge. 

The Treasurer, like every other officer in a Ma- 
sonic Lodge, cannot resign, nor can his office be 
vacated by a removal, or any other cause, except 
death or expulsion. But whenever either of these 
events occurs, and the office becomes vacant, it is 
competent for the Lodge, of course, under the 
authority of a dispensation from the Grand Master, 
to hold a new election. The objections to such a 
course, in the case of the Master or Wardens, do 
not apply to the Treasurer. 

SECTION IV. 

THE SECRETARY. 

The Secretary, like the Treasurer, is only a 
business officer of the Lodge, having nothing to do 
in the ritualistic labors. The charge which he re« 



SECRETARY. 381 

leiv-es at his installation into office, as it is given by 
Preston, Webb, and Cross,* notwithstanding they 
all differ, does not contain a full summary of his 
duties, which are very extensive. I am inclined to 
think that the usage of the craft is at fault in mak- 
ing the Treasurer the senior officer, for I think it 
will be found that the duties and labors of the 
Secretary are not only more onerous, but far more 
important to the interests of the institution. 

The Secretary acts, in his relation to the Lodge, 
in a threefold capacity. He is its recording, cor- 
responding, and collecting agent. 

As the recording agent of the Lodge, it is his 
duty to keep a minute of all the proceedings, except 
such as are of an esoteric character, and which the 
peculiar constitution of our society forbids him to 
commit to paper. After these minutes have been 
approved and confirmed, it is his duty to transfer 
them to a permanent record book. It is also his 
duty, whenever called upon, to furnish the Grand 
Master or the Grand Lodge with a fair transcript 
of any portion of his records that may be required. 
As the recording agent, he is also expected to fur- 

* " It is your duty to record the minutes and issue out the summonses for 
the regular meetings." — Preston, p. 79. 

" It is your duty to observe the Worshipful Master's will and pleasure, to 
record the proceedings of the Lodge, to receive all moneys, and pay them 
into the hands of the Treasurer." — Webb, p. 104. 

" It is your duty to observe all the proceedings of the Lodge ; make a fair 
record of all things proper to be written ; to receive all moneys due the 
Lodge, and pay them over to" the Treasurer, and take his receipt for the 
same." — Cross, p. 76. 

It will be observed that the words of Cross agree more closely than the 
others with the ritual in general use at the present time in this country. 



382 SECRETARY. 

nisli, at every communication of the Lodge, a state- 
ment of the unfinished business which is to be called 
up for action. 

As the corresponding agent of the Lodge, he re- 
ceives and reads all communications which have 
been addressed to the Lodge, and replies to them, 
under the directions of the Lodge or the Master, 
whenever any action has been taken upon them. 
He also issues all summonses for special or stated 
communications. This duty, particularly in refer- 
ence to the stated communications, is sometimes 
improperly neglected. Every Mason is entitled to 
a summons, either verbal or written, to every meet- 
ing of his Lodge. The Secretary is also the proper 
officer to make out the returns to the Grand Lodge, 
and to communicate to it, through the Grand Se- 
cretary, notices of rejections, suspensions and ex- 
pulsions. He is, in fact, the organ of communication 
between his Lodge and the Grand Lodge, as well 
as all other Masonic bodies. He affixes his signa- 
ture and the seal of the Lodge to all demits, diplo- 
mas, and other documents which the Lodge may 
direct. For this purpose he is the keeper of the 
seal of the Lodge, and is also the proper custodian 
of its archives - ." 

As the collecting agent of the Lodge, he keeps 
the accounts between itself and its members, re- 
ceives all dues for quarterage, and all fees for initia- 
tion, passing and raising ; and after making an 

* He combines the duties of Secretary with those of Archivist and Kcepe? 
of the Seals, to be found in the French and many German Lodges. 



SECRETARY. 383 

entry of the sums and the occasions on which they 
were paid, he transfers the money forthwith to the 
Treasurer, and takes his receipt. In this way each 
of these officers is a check upon the other, and a 
comparison of their books will enable the Lodge 
at any time to detect the errors of either. 

The books and accounts of the Secretary, like 
those of the Treasurer, should be examined at least 
once a year by a committee appointed by the Lodge, 
and they should be at all times ready for the in- 
spection of the Master. 

It is customary in many Lodges, on account of 
the numerous and often severe duties of the Secre- 
tary, to exempt him from the payment of annual 
dues, and sometimes even to give him a stated salary. 
I see no objection to this, for he does not thereby 
cease to be a contributor to the support of the insti- 
tution. His contribution, though not in the form 
of money, is in that of valuable services.* 

The office of Secretary, like that of Treasurer, 
can only be vacated by death or expulsion, when a 
new election may be ordered under the Grand Mas- 
ter's dispensation. It must "be remembered that 
nothing can be done in Masonry out of the regular 
time appointed by law, unless the proper authority 
disjjenses, for that particular occasion, with the 
operation of the law. 

* It is very properly maintained as a principle that no Mason should re- 
ceive pecuniary compensation for his services in the work of Masonry. But 
the Secretary is the only officer in the Lodge, except the Tiler, whose labora 
in Masonry do not cease when the Lodge is closed. Nearly all of his work 
is unconnected with the ritual, and much of it is done during the recess of 
the Lodge. 



384 DEACONS. 

SECTION V. 

THE DEACONS. 

In every Masonic Lodge there are two officers 
who are called Deacons ; the one who sits in the 
east, on the right of the Master, is called the Senior 
Deacon, and the other, who sits in the west, on the 
right of the Senior Warden, is called the Junior 
Deacon. They are not elected to their respective 
offices, but are appointed — the Senior by the Master, 
and the Junior by the Senior Warden. 

The title is one of great antiquity, and is derived 
from the Greek language,* where it signifies an 
attendant or servant, and was used in this sense in 
the primitive church, where the Deacons waited, 
upon the men, and stood at the men's door, and. 
the Deaconesses at the women's door, to see that 
none came in or went out during the time of the 
oblation. 

In the Lodges of France and Germany, except in 
those which work in the Scotch and York rites, the 
office of the Deaconf is not known ; but their func- 
tions are discharged by other officers. In France 
they have an " expert" and a " Master of Ceremo- 
nies," and in Germany a " Master of Ceremonies" 
and a " preparer."t 

* AiciKOvog-, an attendant or waiter, from the verb Sta/covca, to attend 
or serve. In the Latin the word is diaconus. 

f The German Lodges in this country make use of Deacons, and give them 
the title of" vorsteher," which signifies a director. See Des Freimaurer's 
Ilandbuch von J. D. Finkelmeiee, which is an excellent translation of 



DEACONS, 385 

While the two Deacons have one duty in common, 
that, namely, of waiting upon the Master and 
Wardens, and serving as their proxies in the active 
duties of the Lodge,* the Senior Deacon being the 
especial minister of the Master, and the Junior of 
the Senior Warden, they have peculiar and separate 
duties distinctly appropriated to each. 

The Senior Deacon. — The Senior Deacon, as I 
have already remarked, is the especial attendant of 
the Master. Seated at his right hand, he is ready 
at all times to carry messages and to convey orders 
from him to the Senior Warden, and elsewhere 
about the Lodge. 

He is also the proper officer to propose to every 
candidate, in an adjoining apartment, and in the 
presence of the Stewards, those questions which are 
to elicit his declaration of the purity of the motives 
which have induced him to apply for initiation. t 
For this purpose he leaves the Lodge room, previous 
to the preparation of the candidate, and having pro- 
posed the questions and received the appropriate 
replies, he returns and reports the fact to the 
Master. 

He also takes an important part in the subsequent 

Macoy's Manual, for the use of German Lodges. But the word " vorsteher" 
is not to be found in Lenning's German Encyclopedia of Freemasonry. 

* " It is your province to attend on the Master and Wardens, and to act 
as their proxies in the active duties of the Lodge."— Webb, Installation 
Service, p. 104. 

f Webb says that the declaration must " be assented to by a candidate in 
an adjoining apartment previous to initiation," and he adds, " the Stewards 
of the Lodge are usually present." — Monitor, p. 30. 



386 DEACONS. 

ceremonies of initiation. He receives the candi- 
date at the door," and conducts him throughout all 
the requisitions of the ritual. He is, from the 
reason of his intimate connection with the candi- 
date, the proper guardian of the inner door of the 
Lodge. 

It is his duty also to welcome all visiting brethren, 
to furnish them with seats, and if they are entitled 
to the honors of the Lodge, to supply them with the 
collars and jewels of their rank, and conduct them 
to their appropriate stations in the east.f 

After the Lodge is opened, the altar and its sur- 
rounding lights are placed under the especial care 
of the Senior Deacon. 

He also takes charge of the ballot box in all bal- 
lots, places it on the altar in the customary form, 
and after all the members have voted, exhibits it for 
inspection to the Junior and Senior Wardens and 
Master, in rotation. 

In the inspection of members and visitors, before 
the Lodge is opened, for the purpose of preventing 
the intrusion of impostors among the brethren, the 
north side of the Lodge is intrusted to the care of 
the Senior Deacon. 

The Junior Deacon. — This officer is the especia . 
attendant of the Senior Warden ; and being seated 
at his right hand, is prepared to carry messages 

* According to the Prestonian work, it is the duty of the Inner Guard 
(an officer not recognized in this counter) " to receive candidates in due 
form." — See Preston, p. 80. 

f Many Lodges keep a supply of Past Masters' collars and jewels for this 
purpose. 



DEACONS. 387 

from him to the Junior Warden, and elsewhere 
about the Lodge. 

He takes very little part in the ceremonies of 
conferring the degrees, but as he is placed near the 
outer door, he attends to all alarms of the Tiler, re- 
ports them to the Master, and at his command, in- 
quires into the cause. The outer door being thus 
under his charge, he should never permit it to be 
opened by the Tiler, except in the usual form, and 
when preceded by the usual notice. He should 
allow no one to enter or depart without having first 
obtained the consent of the presiding officer. 

An important duty of the Junior Deacon is to see 
that the Lodge is duly tiled. Upon this the security 
and secrecy of the institution depends ; and there- 
fore the Junior Deacon has been delegated as an 
especial officer to place the Tiler at his post, and to 
give him the necessary instructions. 

In the inspection of the brethren, which takes 
place at the opening of the Lodge, the south side of 
the room is intrusted to the care of the Junior 
Deacon. 

In the absence of the Senior Deacon, the Junior 
does not succeed to his place ; but a temporary ap- 
pointment of a Senior Deacon is made by the 
Master. 

If the Junior Deacon is absent, it is the usage for 
the Master, and not the Senior Warden, to make a 
temporary appointment. The right of nominating 
the Junior Deacon is vested in the Senior Warden 
only on the night of his installation. After that, on 



388 DEACONS. 

the occurrence of a temporary vacancy, this right is 
lost, and the Master makes the appointment by the 
constitutional right of appointment which vests in 
him. 

It has been supposed by some writers that, as the 
Deacons are not elected, but appointed by the Mas- 
ter and Senior Warden, they are removable at the 
pleasure of these officers. This, however, is not in 
accordance with the principles which govern the 
tenure of all Masonic offices. Although they are 
indebted for their positions to a preliminary ap- 
pointment, they are subsequently installed like the 
other officers, take a similar obligation, and are 
bound to the performance of their duties for a simi- 
lar period. Neither Preston nor Webb say any- 
thing, in the installation charge, of a power of 
removal by those who appointed them. In fact it 
is the installation, and not the appointment, that 
makes them Deacons ; and deriving, therefore, their 
right to office from this ceremony, they are to be 
governed by the same rules which affect other in- 
stalled officers. In England, the Wardens are ap- 
pointed by the Master, but he cannot remove them 
from office, the power of doing which is vested 
solely in the Lodge.* In this country, the only 

* " The Wardens or officers of a Lodge cannot be removed, unless for a 
cause which appears to the Lodge to be sufficient ; but the Master, if he be 
dissatisfied with the conduct of any of his officers, may lay the cause of com- 
plaint before the Lodge ; and if it shall appear to the majority of the 
brethren present that the complaint be well founded, he shall have power tc 
displace such officer, and to nominate another." — Constitutions of England, 
ed. 18,17, p. 80. 



STEWARDS. 389 

mode known to the law of removing an officer is by 
his expulsion, and this can only be done by the 
Lodge, as in England, after trial. I hold, then, 
that the analogy of the English law is to be ex- 
tended to the appointed, as well as to the elected 
officers — to the Deacons who are appointed here, as 
well as to the Wardens who are appointed there ; 
and that therefore a Deacon, having been once in- 
stalled, derives his tenure of office from that instal- 
lation, and cannot be removed by the Master or 
Senior Warden. The office can only be vacated by 
death or expulsion.* 

SECTION VI. 

THE STEWARDS. 

The Stewards are two in number, and are ap- 
pointed by the Junior Warden. They sit on the 
right and left of that officer, each one having a white 
rod, as the insignia of his office, and wearing the 
cornucopia as a jewel. 

Preston says that their duties are " to introduce 
visitors, and see that they are properly accommo- 
dated ; to collect subscriptions and other fees, and 
to keep an exact account of the Lodge expenses." 
Webb adds to these the further duties of seeing 
" that the tables are properly furnished at refresh- 

* The jewels of the Deacons are a square and compasses, with the sun in 
the centre for the Senior, and the moon for the Junior. In England the 
jewel is a dove in its flight. The Deacons always carry rods as the insignia 
of their office. 



r*)0 STEWARDS. 

mr f "it, and that every brother is suitably provided 
for," and lie makes them the assistants generally of 
the Deacons and other officers in performing their 
respective duties.* 

There can be no doubt, from the nature of the 
office in other institutions, that the duty of the 
Stewards was originally to arrange and direct the 
refreshments of the Lodge, and to provide accom- 
modations for the brethren on such occasions. 
When the office was first established, refreshments 
constituted an important and necessary part of the 
proceedings of every Lodge. Although not yet 
abolished, the Lodge banquets are now fewer, and 
occur at greater intervals, and the services of the 
Stewards are therefore now less necessary, so far as 
respects their original duties as servitors at the 
table. Hence new duties are beginning to be im- 
posed upon them, and they are, in many jurisdic- 
tions, considered as the proper officers to examine 
visitors and to prepare candidates. f 

The examination of visitors and the preparation 
of candidates for reception into the different de- 
grees, requires an amount of skill and experience 

* Lenning says that in those German Lodges which have introduced the 
office of Stewards, they unite the duties of Deacons and Stewards, and are 
the assistants of the two Wardens, whose stations they assume in their 
absence. Encyc. der Freimaitr in voce Schafener. They p03sess no such 
prerogative in England or America. The French Lodges do cot recognize 
the office. 

f " To the Stewards is intrusted, in the hours of labor, the preparation of 
candidates and the examination of visitors, for which purpose they bh^uld 
acquire a competent knowledge of the mysteries of our institution."— Ahiman 
Eezon of So Carolina, p. 79. 



TILER. 39 i 

which can be obtained only by careful study. It 
seems, therefore, highly expedient that instead of 
intrusting these services to committees appointed as 
occasion may require, they should be made the 
especial duty of officers designated at their instal- 
lation for that purpose, and who will therefore, it 
is to be supposed, diligently prepare themselves for 
the correct discharge of the functions of their 
office. 

Preston says that at their installation the Master 
and Wardens are the representatives of the Mas- 
ter Masons who are absent, the Deacons of the 
Fellow Crafts, and the Stewards of the Entered 
Apprentices. 

The Stewards, like the Deacons, although not 
elected, but appointed, cannot, after installation, be 
removed by the officer who appointed them. 

I may remark, in conclusion, that the office is one 
of great antiquity, since we find it alluded to and 
the duties enumerated in the Old York Constitu- 
tions of 926," where the Steward is directed " to 
provide good cheer against the hour of refresh- 
ment, 77 and to render a true and correct accourt of 
the expenses. 

SECTION vn. 

THE TILEK. 

This is a very important office, and like that of 
the Master and Wardens, owes its existence, not to 
any conventional regulations, but to the very Land- 

* See ante p. 4G, point 9. 



392 TILER. 

marks of the Order ;* for, from the peculiar nature 
of our institution, it is evident that there never 
could have been a meeting of Masons for Masonic 
purposes, unless a Tiler had been present to guard 
the Lodge from intrusion. 

The title, is derived from the operative art ; for, 
as I have elsewhere explained it, " as in operative 
Masonry, the Tiler, when the edifice is erected, 
finishes and covers it with the roof (of tiles), so in 
speculative Masonry, when the Lodge is duly organ- 
ized, the Tiler closes the door and covers the sacred 
precincts from all intrusion. "f 

The first and most important duty of the Tiler is 
to guard the door of the Lodge, and to permit no 
one to pass in who is not duly qualified, and who 
has not the permission of the Master. ;f Of these 
qualifications, in doubtful cases, he is not himself to 
judge ; but on the approach of any one who is un- 
known to him, he should apprize the Lodge by the 
usual formal method. As the door is peculiarly 
under his charge, he should never, for an instant, be 
absent from his post. He should neither open the 
door himself from without, nor permit it to be 
opened by the Junior Deacon from within, without 
the preliminary alarm. 

* See ante p. 26, Landmark 11. 

t Mackey's Lexicon of Freemasonry. The French and German Masona 
preserve the same symbolic idea. In France the officer is called a " tuilleur," 
and the Lodge is said to be covered. In German Lodges the word tiler is 
literally translated by the title " ziegeldecker." 

| Neither Preston, Webb, nor any of the other monitorial writers until ths 
time of Cross, prescribed any form of charge at the installation of the Tiler 
The duties, however, were well understood. 



TILER. 393 

A necessary qualification of a Tiler is, that he 
should be a Master Mason. Although the Lodge 
may be opened in an inferior degree, no one who 
has not advanced to the third degree can legally 
discharge the functions of Tiler. 

As the Tiler is always compensated for his 
services, he is considered, in some sense, as the 
servant of the Lodge. It is therefore his duty to 
prepare the Lodge for its meetings, to arrange the 
furniture in its proper place, and during the com- 
munication to keep a supply of aprons, so as to fur- 
nish each brother with one preparatory to his 
entrance. He is also the messenger of the Lodge, 
and it is his duty to deliver to the members 
the summonses which have been written by the 
Secretary. 

The Tiler need not be a member of the Lodge 
which he tiles ; and in fact, in large cities, one 
brother very often performs the duties of Tiler of 
several Lodges. 

The office, however, in a subordinate Lodge, does 
not, like that of Grand Tiler, disqualify him for 
membership ; and if the Tiler is a member, he is 
entitled to all the rights of membership, except that 
of sitting in the communications, which right he 
has voluntarily relinquished by his acceptance of 
office. 

It is usual, in balloting for candidates, to call the 
Tiler (if he be a member) in, and request him to vote. 
On such occasions the Junior Deacon takes his place 
on the outside, while he is depositing his ballot. 

17* 



394 CHAPLAIN. 

The Tiler is sometimes appointed by the Master, 
but is more usually elected by the Lodge.* After 
installation, lie holds his office by the same tenure 
as the other officers, and can only be removed by 
death or expulsion. Of course the Tiler, like every 
other officer, may, on charges preferred and trial 
had, be suspended from discharging the functions of 
his office, during which suspension a temporary 
Tiler shall be appointed by the Master. But as I 
have already said, such suspension does not vacate 
the office, nor authorize a new election. 



SECTION VIII. 

THE CHAPLAIN. 

I can find neither example in the old usages, nor 
authority in any of the Ancient Regulations, for the 
appointment of such an officer in a subordinate 
Lodge as a Chaplain. I think it is only within a 
few years that some Lodges have been led, by an 
improper imitation of the customs of other socie- 
ties, to inscribe him in the list of their officers. 

The Master of a Lodge, by the ritualistic usages 
of the Order, possesses all the sacerdotal rights 
necessary to be exercised in the ceremonies of our 
institution. There is therefore no necessity for a 
Chaplain, while I have no doubt that as the ritual 
prescribes that certain duties shall be performed 
by the Master, he is violating the Landmarks when 

* In England he is always elected. 



CHAPLAIN. 395 

he transfers the performance of those duties to 
another person, who holds no office recognized by 
any of our regulations. 

This section is therefore inserted, not to prescribe 
the duties of the Chaplain of a Lodge — for I know 
not where to find the authority for them — but to 
enable me to express my opinion that the appoint- 
ment of Chaplains in subordinate Lodges is an 
innovation on ancient usage, which should be 
discouraged. 

Of course, on public occasions, such as the cele- 
bration of the festivals of the patron Saints of 
Masonry, when there are public prayers and ad- 
dresses, there can be no objection, and indeed it is 
advisable to invite a clergyman, who is a Mason, to 
conduct the religious portion of the exercises. 



CHAPTER IV. 

3& u I e s of © r tr e r ♦ 

In all well regulated societies, it is absolutely 
necessary that there should be certain rules, not 
only for the government of the presiding officer, but 
for that of the members over whom he presides. 
It is not so material what these rules are, as that 
they should be well known and strictly observed.* 
The Parliamentary law, or that system of regula- 
tions which have been adopted for the government 
of legislative bodies in England and America, and 
which constitutes the basis of the rules for conduct- 
ing business in all organized societies, whether pub- 
lic or private, in these countries, is, in many of its 
details, inapplicable to a Masonic Lodge, whose 
Rules of Order are of a nature peculiar to itself. 
Still the Masonic rule is, as it has been judiciously 
expressed by Bro. French, " that where well settled 
Parliamentary principles can be properly applied to 
the action of Masonic bodies, they should always 

* Hatsell, who is excellent authority on the subject, says, " whethe* 
these forms be in all cases most rational or not, is really not of so great in* 
portance. It is much more material that there should be a rule to go by 
than what that rule is. —Cited in Jefferson, Man. p. 14. 



ORDER OF BUSINESS. 397 

govern ; but they should never be introduced where 
they in any way interfere with the established cus- 
toms or Landmarks of Masonry, or with the high 
prerogatives of the Master."* In the discussion of 
this subject, it is not proposed, in the present chap- 
ter, to give anything more than a mere outline of 
the usage to be pursued in conducting the business 
of a Lodge ; for many of the most important regula- 
tions to be observed will be found under appropri- 
ate heads, interspersed throughout this work. 

#rtrer at Justness. 

1. After a Lodge has been opened according to 
the formalities of the Order, the first thing to be 
done is the reading of the minutes of the preceding 
communication. These are then to be corrected 
and confirmed by a vote of the Lodge. 

2. But to this rule there is this qualification, that 
the minutes of a regular or stated communication 
cannot be altered or amended at a special one.f 

3. The Lodge being opened and the minutes read, 
it may then proceed to business, which will generally 
commence with the consideration of the unfinished 
business left over from the last meeting. But the 
order of business is strictly under the direction of 
the Master, who may exercise his own discretion in 

* Application of Parliamentary Law to the Government of Masonic- 
Bodies. — Americ. Quart. Ren. of Freemas., vol. i. p. 325. 

f " No Lodge can, at an extra meeting, alter or expunge the proceeding* 
of a regular meeting/'- -Ahim. Rez. So. Ca. p. 84, ed. 1852 



898 ORDER OF BUSINESS. 

the selection of the matters which are to come be- 
fore the Lodge, subject, of course, for an arbitrary 
or oppressive control of the business to an appeal 
to the Grand Lodge. 

4. No alarms should be attended to at the door, 
nor members or visitors admitted during the time 
of opening or closing the Lodge, or reading the 
minutes, or conferring a degree. 

5. All votes, except in the election of candidates, 
members or officers, must be taken by a show of 
hands,* and the Senior Deacon will count and re- 
port to the Master, who declares the result. 

6. No Lodge can be resolved into a " committee 
of the whole," which is a parliamentary proceeding, 
utterly unknown to Masonry .f 

7. The minutes of a meeting should be read at its 
close, that errors may at once be corrected and 
omissions supplied by the suggestion of those who 
were present during the transactions ; but these 
minutes are not to be finally confirmed until the 
next regular communication. 

* On the 6th April, 1736, the following regulation was adopted by the 
Grand Lodge of England.— See Anderson, second edit. p. 178. ,: The 
opinions or votes of the members are always to be signified by each holding 
up one of his hands, which uplifted hands the Grand Wardens are to count, 
unless the number of hands be so unequal as to render the counting useless. 
Nor should any o'her kind of division be ever admitted among Masons." 
The Grand Lodge of South Carolina says the right hand, the Grand Ledge 
of New York, the left. I adopt the middle course, and adhere to the original 
regulation, which leaves it indifferent which hand is used. 

f " Committees of the whole are utterly out of place in a Masonic body. 
Lodges can only do business with the Master in the chair." — French, ui 
supra 



KULES OF DEBATE. 399 

8. Masonic decorum requires that daring the 
transaction of business, the brethren shall not enter- 
tain any private discourse, nor in any other way 
disturb the harmony of the Lodge.* 

&ules of Befcate, 

9. No brother can speak more than once on any 
subject without the permission of the chair. t 

10. Every brother must address the chair stand- 
ing ; he must confine himself to the question under 
debate, and avoid personality. 

11. Any brother who transgresses this rule may 
be called to order, in which case the presiding offi- 
cer shall immediately decide the point of order, 
from which decision there can be no appeal to the 
Lodge. 

12. When two or more brethren rise at once in a 
debate, the Master shall name the brother who is 
first to speak. 

13. No motion can be put unless it be seconded, 
and if required, it must be reduced to writing. 

14. Before the question is put on any motion, it 
should be distinctly stated by the chair. 

* " You are not to hold private committees, or separate conversation, 
without leave from the Master, nor to talk of anything impertinent or un 
seemly, nor interrupt the Master or Wardens, or any brother speaking to the 
Master."' — Charges o/1721. 

f " No brother is to speak but once to the same affair, unless to explain 
himself, o; when called by the chair to speak." — Regulation adopted April 
21, 1730. Anderson, second edit. p. 177. 



iOO RULES OF DEBATE. 

15. When a question is under debate, no motion 
can bo received but to lie on the table ; to postpone 
to a certain time ; to commit ; to amend, or to post- 
pone indefinitely, which several motions, by Par- 
liamentary usage, have precedence in the order in 
which they are arranged ; and no motion to post- 
pone to a certain time, to commit, or to postpone 
indefinitely, being decided, is again allowed at the 
same communication. 

1G. When motions are made to refer a subject to 
different committees, the question must be taken in 
the order in which the motions were made. 

17. When a motion has been once made and car- 
ried in the affirmative or negative, it is in order for 
any member who voted in the majority to move 
for a reconsideration thereof at the same com- 
munication. 

18. When an amendment is proposed, a member 
who has already spoken to the main question may 
again speak to the amendment. 

19. Amendments may be made so as totally to 
alter the nature of the proposition, and a new reso- 
lution may be ingrafted, by way of amendment, on 
the word " resolved." 

20. When a blank is to be filled, and various pro- 
positions have been made, the question must be 
taken first on the highest sum or the latest time 
proposed. 

21. Any member may call for a division of a 
question, which division will take place if a ma- 
jority of the members consent. 



COMMITTEES. 401 

22. A motion to lie on the table is not debate- 
able, nor is one in the Grand Lodge to close the 
session on a given day.* 

23. A motion for adjournment is unmasonic, and 
cannot be entertained. f 

24. No motion for the " previous question" can 
be admitted.^ 

(Committees. 

25. All committees must be appointed by the 
chair, unless otherwise specially provided for, and 
the first one named on the committee will act as 
chairman ; but no one should be appointed on a 
committee who is opposed to the matter that is 
referred.§ 

26. A committee may meet when and where it 
pleases, if the Lodge has not specified a time and 
place. But a committee can only act when together, 
and not by separate consultation and consent.! 

27. The report of a committee may be read by 
the chairman, or other member in his place, or by 
the Secretary of the Lodge. 

* These rules of debate, from ten to twenty-two, are derived from well 
known principles of Parliamentary law, but are strictly applicable to the con- 
duct of business in Masonic Lodges. 

f The Master alone has the right of closing his Lodge, and a motion for 
adjournment would necessarily interfere with his prerogative. 

$ " The previous question being unknown to Ancient Masonry, should find 
no resting place in a regular Masonic Lodge.'' — Com. of Corresp. G. L. of 
Vermont, 1851. 

§ On the principle that " the child is not to be put to a nurse that cares 
not for it." — Grey, cited by Jefferson, Man. p. 52. 

|| " Nothing i s the report of the committee but what has been agreed to far 
committee actually assembled." — Jefferson, p. 53. 



402 ELECTIONS. 

28. A majority of a committee constitutes a 
quorum for business. 

29. When a report has been read, if no objections 
are made, it is considered as accepted ; but if ob- 
jections are made, the question must be put on its 
acceptance. 

30. If the report contains nothing which requires 
action, but ends with resolutions, the question must 
be on agreeing to the resolutions. 

31. If the report embodies matters of legislation, 
the question must be on adopting the report, and 
on agreeing to the resolutions, if resolutions are ap- 
pended ; but if there is no action recommended by 
the report, and no resolutions are appended to it, 
the acceptance of the report, either tacitly or by 
vote, disposes of it. 

32. Reports may be recommitted at any time 
before final action has been taken on them. 

Elections, 

33. The election of candidates for initiation, or 
of Masons for affiliation, must be conducted with 
white and black balls, and the result will be de- 
clared by the Junior and Senior Wardens and 
Master, in rotation, after inspection. 

34. When the report of a committee on a petition 
for initiation or affiliation is unfavorable, it is un- 
necessary to proceed to a ballot ; for, as the vote 
must be unanimous, the unfavorable opinion already 
expressed of at least two members of the committee 
is in itself a rejection. It is not to be presumed 



ELECTIONS. 403 

that the committee would report against and vote 
for the candidate. Of course it is to be understood 
in these cases that an unfavorable report by a com- 
mittee is equivalent to a rejection. But some Grand 
Lodges have said that a ballot must be taken in all 
cases, and this, though not the general usage, is no 
violation of a landmark. 

35. In an election for officers, two tellers are to be 
appointed to receive and count the votes, and the 
result must be declared by the Master. 

36. Nominations of candidates for office are in 
order, and according to ancient usage,' 5- but if a 
member is elected who had not been nominated, the 
election will still be valid ; for a nomination, though 
permitted, is not absolutely essential. 

37. Where the by-laws of a Lodge do not pro- 
vide otherwise, the election of an officer may be 
taken by a show of hands, if there be no opposing 
candidate.? 

In conclusion, to borrow the language of Bro. 
French, from the able article already quoted, " let 
me say that no general rules can be laid down that 
will meet all special cases ; and proper considera- 
tion and good judgment will almost always lead a 
properly qualified Master to decide right." 

* The old records tell us that on June 24, 1717, " before dinner, the oldest 
Master Mason (now the Master of a Lodge) in the chair, proposed a list of 
proper candidates ; and the brethren, by a majority of hands, elected Mr. 
Anthony Sayre, gent., Grand Master of Masons." — Anderson, sec. ed. p. 109. 

t But if the by-laws require a ballot, it must be taken, even if there be no 
opposition ; for a subordinate Lodge cannot suspend its by-laws, although a 
Grand Lodge can, by unanimous consent. 



BOOK y. 



fieto relating h (Jrenb Eobgps. 



Lodges are the aggregations of Masons as individuals in 
their primary capacity. Grand Lodges are the aggregations 
of subordinate Lodges in their representative capacity. The 
regular progress of our inquiries has hitherto been from the 
candidate to the Mason, and from the Mason to the Lodge. 
I now complete the series by passirg from the Lodge to the 
Grand Lodge. This will therefore be the subject matter of 
the Fifth Book. 



CHAPTER I. 
gfje Mature of a ©ranir 2Lo&se* 

Lenning defines a Grand Lodge to be ; ' the dog- 
matic and administrative authority of several par- 
ticular Lodges of a country or province, which is 
usually composed of the Grand officers and of the 
presiding officers of these particular Lodges, or 
of their deputies, and which deliberates for their 
general good."* 

The Old Charges of 1722 gave a more precise 
definition, and say that " the Grand Lodge consists 
of, and is formed by, the Masters and Wardens of 
all the regular particular Lodges upon record, with 
the Grand Master at their head, and his Deputy on 
his left hand, and the Grand Wardens in their 
proper places. "f 

Both these definitions refer to an organization 
which is comparatively modern, and which dates its 
existence at a period not anterior to the beginning 
of the last century. Perfectly to understand the 
nature of a Grand Lodge, and to comprehend the 

* Encyclopadie der Freimaurerei, word Orient. 

f Anderson's Const, first edit. p. Gl and ante p. 68. 



408 NATURE OF A GRAND LODGE, 

process by which such a body has changed its 
character, from an aggregation of all the Masons 
living in a particular jurisdiction, to a representa- 
tive body, in which all, except a select few, have 
been excluded from its deliberations, we must go 
back to the earlier published records that we pos- 
sess of the history of the institution. 

The duty, as well as the right of the craft, to hold 
an Annual Meeting, in which they might deliberate 
on the state of the Order, and make necessary 
general laws for its government, may be considered, 
in consequence of its antiquity and its universality, 
to possess all the requisites of a Landmark. 

The first written notice that we have of the 
existence of a Grand Lodge or General Assembly 
of the fraternity, is contained in the old manuscript 
of Nicholas Stone, which Preston tells us was, with 
many others, destroyed in the year 1720, but of a 
portion of which Anderson, as well as Preston, gives 
a copy in the second edition of his Book of Consti- 
tutions.* We are there informed that about the 
year 293,t St. Alban, the proto-martyr of England, 
who was a great patron of the fraternity, obtained 
a charter from Carausius to permit the Masons to 
hold a general council, to which he gave the name 

* See Anderson, second edit. p. 57. Let me here remark, that whatever 
may be said against the edition of Anderson, published in 1738, and which 
is the last that he edited, on account of the changes which it contains in the 
Charges of 1722, it is infinitely superior in the historical part to the first edi- 
tion of 1723, whose meager and unsatisfactory details have justly been the 
cause of much complaint. 

f This is the date given by Rebold — Hist, de la Francmagon, p. 95, 



NATURE OF A GRAND LODGE. 409 

of Assembly, and over which he presided as Grand 
Master. 

In consequence of the subsequent political condi- 
tion of England, Masonry, with the other arts and 
sciences, declined, and it is not probable that the 
annual assemblies of the fraternity were regularly 
maintained. About the beginning of the tenth 
century, however, the institution revived, and 
Prince Edwin, the brother* of King Athelstan, 
obtained from that monarch a charter for the 
Masons to renew their General Assembly or Grand 
Lodge. 

Accordingly, in the year 926, says Anderson, 
" Prince Edwin summoned all the Free and Accepted 
Masons in the realm to meet him in a congregation 
at York, who came and formed the Grand Lodge 
under him as their Grand Master, "t 

This was an important communication, for it was 
here that the Old York or Gothic Constitutions 
were framed — the oldest copy that is extant of a 
code of Masonic Regulations, and which formed the 
basis of all the Constitutions that were subsequently 
adopted.^ 

In these Constitutions we find the assertion of the 
right and duty of all the members of the craft to 
attend the communications of the Grand Lodge, and 

* In the first edition of Anderson he is called " the youngest son," an 
error which was corrected in the second and subsequent editions. 

t Anderson, second edit. p. 64. 

i See a condensed exemplar of these Constitutions at page 42 of this 
work. 

18 



ill) NATURE OF A GRAND LODGE. 

also a brief summary of the organization and func- 
tions of that body.* 

There is one peculiarity about these Constitutions 
which, in passing, I desire to notice, as it is con- 
nected with the legal history of Grand Lodges. 
The Fellow Crafts were permitted to attend the 
General Assembly, but the Apprentices are not 
alluded to, because they were not, at that time, con- 
sidered as " men of the craft.' 7 

It is probable that from that time the Annual 
Grand Lodges continued to be held, although not 
with uninterrupted regularity ; for, while Masonry 
nourished under some of the English monarchs, 
under others it declined. At all events we learn 
from an ancient record, a copy of which is given by 
Anderson, that in the reign of Edward III. a Grand 
Lodge was held, and certain important regulations 
enacted for the government of the craft. This 
was between the years 1327 and 1377, but the 
exact date is not furnished by either Preston or 
Anderson.t 

* " They ordained there an assembly to be held 

Every year, wheresoever they would, 

To amend errors, if any were found, 

Among the craft within the land ; 

Each year or third year it should be held, 

In every place wheresoever they would ; 

Time and place must be ordained also 

In which place they should assemble ; 

All the men of the craft must be there." 
—Gothic Constitutions, lines 471-479. I have modernized the orthography, 
which, without affecting the meaning, has destroyed the very little pretension 
that the original had to rhyme. Oliver's condensation of this " ordinance" 
will be found in the present work at p. 47. 
t Anoekson, secon4 edit. p. 71 ; Pkeston, p. 137. 



NATURE OP A GRAND LODGE. 411 

In 1425, these meetings still continued, for in 
that year, in the reign of Henry VI., Parliament 
passed an act to prohibit " the yearly congregations 
and confederacies made by Masons in their general 
assemblies. "* 

This act was, however, we are informed, never 
enforced ; and we again hear of the General As- 
sembly as having met in 1434. 

In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, on the 27th De- 
cember, 1561, we have an account of a Grand Lodge 
which was held at York — Sir Thomas Sackville 
being Grand Master ; and the record is singular, in- 
asmuch as it states two important facts, namely, that 
several persons were made Masons by the Grand 
Lodge, and that after they were made, they joined 
in the communication,'!' which proves that the custom 
still continued of admitting all members of the craft 
to assist in the General Assembly. 

The next Grand Lodge, whose communication 
was of such importance as to entitle it to a place in 
the records of the institution, was that which was 
held on the 27th December, 1663, when the Earl of 
St. Albans was Grand Master, and when several 
judicious regulations were enacted .J 

Erom this time General Assemblies were annually 
held, both at York and London, until the beginning 
of the eighteenth century, when, owing to the 

* Anderson, second edit. p. 74 ; Preston, p. 141. 

f This was the celebrated meeting to which Queen Elizabeth sent an 
armed force to break up the assemblage. See Anderson, second edit, p, 
81, and Preston 7 , p. 154. 

i Anderson second edit. p. 101. 



412 NATURE OF A GRAND LODGE. 

neglect of Sir Christopher Wren, the Grand Master, 
and to some other causes, the Annual Assembly, we 
are told, was not duly attended.* 

But now we arrive at an important era in the his- 
tory of Masonry. In 1716, there were only four 
Lodges in existence in London, and no others in the 
whole south of England. These four Lodges deter- 
mined, if possible, to revive the institution from its 
depressed state, and accordingly they met in Febru- 
ary, 1717, at the Apple-tree Tavern, (whose name 
has thus been rendered famous for all time,) and 
after placing the oldest Master Mason, who was the 
Master of a Lodge, in the chair, they constituted 
themselves into a Grand Lodge, and resolved, says 
Preston, "to revive the quarterly communications 
of the fraternity." On the following St. John the 
Baptist's day, the Grand Lodge was duly organized, 
and Mr. Anthony Sayre was elected Grand Master, 
who " appointed his Wardens, and commanded the 
brethren of the four old Lodges to meet him and 
the Wardens quarterly in communication. "t From 
that time Grand Lodges have been uninterrupt- 
edly held, receiving, however, at different periods, 
various modifications, which are hereafter to be 
noticed. 

The records from which this brief history has 
been derived, supply us with several facts, from 
which we may elicit important principles of law. 

* Anderson, second edit. p. 108. 

f I again quote the words of Preston, but Anderson says he commanded 
" tlie Masters and Wardens." 



NATURE OF A GRAND LODGE. 4x3 

Id the first place, we find that originally the 
meetings of the fraternity in their General Assembly 
or Grand Lodge, were always annual. The old 
York Constitutions, it is true, say that the assembly 
might be held triennially ; but wherever spoken of, 
in subsequent records, it is always as an Annual 
Meeting. It is not until 1717 that we find anything 
said of quarterly communications ; and the first al- 
lusion to these subordinate meetings in any printed 
work, to which we now have access, is in 1738, in 
the edition of the Constitutions published in that 
year. The expression there used is that the quar- 
terly communications were ' : forthwith revived." 
This of course implies that they had previously 
existed ; but as no mention is made of them in the 
Regulations of 1663, which, on the contrary, speak 
expressly only of an " Annual General Assembly," 
I feel authorized to infer that quarterly communica- 
tions must have been first introduced into the Ma- 
sonic system after the middle of the seventeenth 
century. They have not the authority of antiquity, 
and have been very wisely discarded by nearly all 
the Grand Lodges in this country. 

In the next place, it will be observed that at the 
Annual Assembly, every member of the craft was 
permitted to be present, and to take a part in the 
deliberations. But by members of the croft, in the 
beginning, were meant Masters and Fellows only. 
Apprentices were excluded, because they were not 
entitled to any of the privileges of craftsmen. 
They were not free, but bound to their Masters, and 



414 NATURE OF A GRAND LODGE. 

in the same position that Apprentices now arc in 
any of our trades or mechanical employments. The 
institution was then strictly operative in its charac- 
ter ; and although many distinguished noblemen 
and prelates who were not operative Masons, were, 
even at that early period, members of the Order 
and exalted to its highest offices, still the great masi 
of the fraternity were operative, the workmen were 
engaged in operative employments, and the institu- 
tion was governed by the laws and customs of an 
operative association. 

In this respect, however, an important change 
was made, apparently about the beginning of the 
eighteenth century, which had a remarkable efiect 
on the character of the Grand Lodge organization. 
Preston tells us that at that time a proposition was 
agreed to " that the privileges of Masonry should no 
longer be restricted to operative Masons, but extend 
to men of various professions, provided they were 
regularly approved and initiated into the Order."* 
Now, as it is known that long before that period 
" men of various professions" had been admitted 
into the Order, and as we find a king presiding as 
Grand Master in 1502, and many noblemen, pre- 
lates, and distinguished statesmen occupying the 
same post, before and after that period.it is evident 
that this Regulation must be construed as meaning 
that the institution should throw off from that time 
its mixed operative and speculative character, and 
become entirely speculative. And we are war- 

* Pkeston, p, 180. 



NATURE OF A GRAND LODGE. 415 

ranted in making this conclusion by the facts of 
history. 

In 1717, and very soon after, we find such men as 
Anderson and Desaguliers, who were clergymen and 
philosophers, holding high positions and taking an 
active part in the Order, and the Society from that 
time devoted itself to the pursuit of speculative 
science, leaving the construction of cathedrals and 
palaces to the operative workmen, who, as such, 
were unconnected with the Order. 

Now, the first effect of this change was on the 
character of the class of Apprentices. They were 
no longer, as in the olden time, youths placed under 
the control of Masters, to acquire the mysteries of a 
trade, but they were men who had been initiated 
into the first degree of a Mystic Association. The 
great object of the Apprentices in the operative art 
was to acquire a knowledge of that art, and being- 
made free by the expiration of their time of service, 
which the oldest Constitutions prescribed should bo 
seven years, to be promoted to the rank of Crafts- 
men, when they would be entitled to receive wages, 
and to have a voice in the deliberations of the 
Society. 

The Apprentices in the speculative science but 
seldom proceeded further. The mass of the old 
Society consisted of Fellows, or Fellow Crafts ; that 
of the new organization was composed of Appren- 
tices. The primitive Lodges were made up of 
Fellow Crafts principally ; the modern ones of Ap- 
prentices. Anderson, Preston, and all the old 



il6 NATURE OF A GRAND LODGE. 

Charges and Constitutions will afford abundant 
proofs of this fact.* 

The Apprentices haying thus become the main 
body of the fraternity, the necessary result was, 
that occupying, in this respect, the place formerly 
filled by the Fellow Crafts, they assumed all the 
privileges which belonged to that class. And thus 
we arrive at the fact, and the reason of the fact, that 
in 17 IT, at the re-organization of the Grand Lodge, 
Entered Apprentices were admitted to attend the 
Annual Assembly ; and we can satisfactorily appre- 
ciate that clause in the thirty-ninth of the Regula- 
tions, adopted in 1721, which says that no new 
regulation should be adopted until, at the Annual 
Assembly or Grand Feast, it was offered in writing 
to the perusal of all the brethren, "even of the 
youngest Entered Apprentice." 

From Anderson and Preston, who are unfortu- 
nately the only authorities we possess on the condi- 
tion of Masonry in England in the year 1717, we 
are enabled to collect the following facts : 

When the Grand Lodge was re-organized in 1717, 
all the members of the four Lodges then in exist- 
ence had a right to be present at all the communi- 

* " At first Fellow Crafts and Master Masons could only be made in the 
Grand Lodge, and it is so directed in the thirteenth of the Regulations of 
1721. But in November, 1725, the Master and Wardens of a subordinate 
Lodge, with the assistance of a competent number of brethren, were permit- 
ted to confer the second and third degrees." — Anderson, second edit. p. 160. 
But it will be found that as soon as the Lodges were invested with this 
power, the Apprentices began to lose the prerogative of attending the 
General Assembly. 



NATURE OF A GRAND LODGE. 417 

cations of the Grand Lodge ; but when new Lodges 
were formed, this privilege was restricted to their 
Masters and Wardens, though it seems, that at the 
Grand Feast, which took the place of the Annual 
General Assembly, Fellow Crafts and Entered Ap- 
prentices were still permitted to appear and express 
their opinions. 

The members of the four old Lodges, having first 
secured their inherent rights by the adoption of a 
resolution in the Grand Lodge that no law should 
ever be passed which would infringe their imme- 
morial privileges, thought it no longer necessary 
that they should attend the communications of the 
Grand Lodge ; and they too, like the other Lodges, 
trusted implicitly to their Masters and Wardens as 
their representatives in the Grand Lodge, so that 
soon after 1717, and before the year 1721, the quar- 
terly communications of the Grand Lodge were 
composed only of the Masters and Wardens of the 
subordinate Lodges, with the Grand Master and 
his officers. 

But the General Assembly was still attended by 
the whole of the craft, whose larp;e numbers soon be- 
gan to prove an inconvenience ; for we are informed 
by Anderson that in the year 1721, the number of 
Lodges had so increased that the General Assembly, 
requiring more room, was removed from the Goose- 
and-Gridiron Ale-house to Stationers' Hall.* 

* " Payne, Grand Master, observing the number of Lodges to increase, 
and that the General Assembly required more room, proposed the next 
Assembly and feast to be held at Stationers' Hall, Ludgate Street."— Ander 
son, second edit. p. 112. 

18* 



418 NATURE OF A GRAND LODGE. 

Now, the statement of these facts enables us to 
reconcile two apparent contradictions in the thirty 
nine Regulations that were adopted in 1721. 

The Twelfth Regulation says that the Grand 
Lodge consists of the Masters and Wardens only ; 
and yet the Thirty-seventh provides that at the 
Grand Feast the Grand Master " shall allow any 
Brother, Fellow Craft, or Apprentice to speak, or 
to make any motion for the good of /the fraternity." 
The apparent contradiction in these passages may 
be now readily explained. The Twelfth Regulation 
refers to the quarterly communications^ where the 
Masters and Wardens only were present ; the Thirty- 
seventh Regulation to the General Assembly, where 
all the craft were permitted to attend. 

But this privilege of attending even the Annual 
Communication was soon taken from the members 
of the Lodges. At what precise period it is impos- 
sible to say, for the student of Masonic history 
finds himself repeatedly at fault, not only from the 
paucity of details and want of precision in the 
authorities, but frequently from the contradictory 
statements of the same authority. But we may 
gather many important suggestions from the regu- 
lations which were adopted at various times, while 
the Grand Lodge appears to have been gradually 
settling down into a permanent organization, and 
which will be found in the second and subsequent 
editions of the Book of Constitutions. 

Thus, on the 26th of November, 1728, it was 
enacted that if any officer of a Lodge could not at 



NATUKE OF A GRAND LODGE. 419 

tend the meeting of the Grand Lodge, he might 
send a brother cf that Lodge, "but not a mere 
Entered Apprentice'."* This shows that Appren- 
tices, at least, were by this time disfranchised. 

Again : the Thirty-ninth Regulation, adopted in 
1721, had made it necessary that every amendment 
to or alteration of any of the Old Regulations must 
be submitted, at the Annual Assembly, to the perusal 
of even the youngest Apprentice, and be approved 
by a majority of all the brethren present. But on 
the 25th of November, 1723, it was resolved that 
any Grand Lodge has the power to amend or explain 
any of the regulations ; and accordingly the ex- 
planation is appended to this regulation in the 
second edition of the Book of Constitutions, that 
new regulations may be made "without the con- 
sent of all the brethren, at the Grand Annual 
Feast/'t 

And finally : on the 6th of April, 1736, a Fortieth 
Regulation was adopted, which explicitly declared 
" that no brothers should be admitted into the 
Grand Lodge but those that are the known mem- 
bers thereof, viz : the four present and all former 
Grand Officers, the Treasurer and Secretary, the 
Masters and Wardens of all regular Lodges, the 
Masters and Wardens and nine more of the Stew- 
ards' Lodge, except a brother who is a petitioner 
or a witness in some case, or one called in by a 
motion."^ 

* Anderson, second edition, p. 159. 

t Ibid, p. 176. % Ibid, p. 176. 



420 NATURE OF A GRAND LODGE. 

Here is an instance of that want of precision 
of which I have just complained. This new regu- 
lation may refer only to the quarterly communi- 
cations, although that would hardly have been 
necessary, as the organization of those meetings had 
already been provided for, or it may refer to all 
communications, both quarterly and annual. If the 
latter were the case, then it is clearly a disfranchise- 
ment of the Fellow Crafts and Apprentices. At all 
events the spirit of the regulation shows a growing 
tendency in the Masons of that time to restrict mem- 
bership in the Grand Lodge to the Grand Officers 
and Masters and Wardens, and to make that body 
strictly representative in its character. 

We thus learn that Grand Lodges were at first 
annual assemblages, at which the Masters and Fel- 
lows of every Lodge were permitted to be present. 
They next became quarterly, as well as annual, and 
Apprentices, as well as Masters and Fellows, were 
permitted to attend. And finally, none were al- 
lowed to participate in the deliberations except the 
Masters and Wardens of the Lodges. 

Let us now inquire what, after all these vicissi- 
tudes, has at length been settled upon, by general 
consent, as the organization of a Grand Lodge in 
the present day. 

A Grand Lodge may be defined to be a congrega- 
tion of the representatives of the subordinate Lodges 
in a jurisdiction, with the Grand Master and Grand 
Officers at their head. It properly consists of the 
Grand and Deputv Grand Master, the Grand Ward- 



NATURE OF A GRAND LODGE. 421 

ens y the Grand Chaplain/"' Grand Treasurer and 
Grand Secretary, for the time being, with the Mas- 
ters and Wardens of the subordinate Lodges. 

Every Grand Lodge is competent to make regu- 
lations admitting other members ; and accordingly 
Past Grand Officers and sometimes Past Masters are 
allowed to sit as members, but these possess no such 
inherent right, and must be indebted for the privi- 
lege altogether to a local regulation. f 

The powers and duties of Grand Lodges will be 
the subject of discussion in the following chapter. 

It only remains to consider the proper mode of 
organizing a Grand Lodge in a territory where no 
such body has previously existed. Perfectly to un- 
derstand this subject, it will be necessary to com- 
mence with the first development of Masonry in any 
country. 

Let us suppose, then, that there is a territory of 
country within whose political bounds Freemasonry 
has never yet been introduced in an organized form. 
There may be, and indeed for the execution of the 
law which is about to be explained, there must be 
an adequate number of Master Masons, but there is 
no Lodge. Now, the first principle of Masonic law 

* In the Thirteenth Regulation of 1721, the Grand Chaplain is not men- 
tioned, but at that time the office did not exist. It is clear that after the 
establishment of the office among the Grand Officers, he should be entitled to 
all the privileges belonging to the rest of his class. 

f " Thus the privilege of membership in the Grand Lodge was extended by 
a special regulation in 1724 to Past Grand Masters, in 1725 to Past Depu- 
ties, and in 1727 to Past Grand Wardens." — Anderson, second edition, 
pp. 158-159. 



422 MATURE OF A GRAND LODGE. 

to which attention is to be directed, in this condi- 
tion of things, is, that any territory into which 
Masonry has not been introduced in the organized 
form of Lodges, is ground common to all the Ma- 
sonic authorities of the world ; and therefore that 
it is competent for any Grand Lodge to grant a 
warrant of constitution, and establish a Lodge in 
such unoccupied territory, on the petition, of course, 
of a requisite number of Masons. And this right 
of granting warrants inures to every Grand Lodge 
in the world, and may be exercised by^ as many as 
choose to do so, as long as no Grand Lodge is 
organized in the territory. So that there may be 
ten or a dozen Lodges working at the same time in 
the same territory, and each one of them deriving 
its legal existence from a different Grand Lodge.* 

In such a case, neither of the Grand Lodges who 
have granted warrants acquires, by any such act, 
exclusive jurisdiction over the territory, which is 
still open for the admission of any other Grand 
Lodge, with a similar power of granting warrants. 
The jurisdiction exercised in this condition of Ma- 
sonry by the different Grand Lodges, is not over 
the territory, but over the Lodge or Lodges which 
each of them has established. 

But afterwards these subordinate Lodges may 
desire to organize a Grand Lodge, omd they are 
competent to do so, under certain restrictions. 

* " Thus, at the time of the organization of the Grand Lodge of California 
in 1850, there were five Lodges in that State working under the authority of 
the Grand Lodges of the District of Columbia, Connecticut, Missouri, New 
Jersey and I-ouisiana." — Trans. G. L. California, p. 12. 



NATURE OF A GRAND LODGE. 423 

Li the first place, it is essential that not less than 
three Lodges shall unite in forming a Grand Lodge. 
Dermott, without any other authority that 1 can 
discover than his own ipse dixit, says that not less 
than five Lodges must concur in the formation of a 
Grand Lodge * and Dr. Dalcho, who was originally 
an ''ancient York Mason/ 7 repeats the doctrine ;f 
but if this be the true state of the law, then 
the Grand Lodge of England, which was organized 
in 1717, with the concurrence of only four Lodges, 
must have been irregular.! The fact is that there 
is no ancient regulation on the subject ; but the 
necessity of three Lodges concurring is derived 
from the well known principle of the civil law that 
a college or corporate body must consist of three 
persons at least. § Two Lodges could not unite in 
a Masonic college or convention, nor form that cor- 
porate body known as a Grand Lodge. But not 
more than three are necessary, and accordingly the 
Grand Lodge of Texas, which was established in 
1837, by three Lodges, was at once recognized as 
regular and legal by all the Grand Lodges of the 
United States and other countries. 

* Ahiman Rezon, p-.xiii. third edit. f Ibid, p. 154, edit. 1822. 

i The Grand Lodge of Ohio was organized in 1808 by only four Lodges, 
and some doubt was expressed at the time by the members of the regularity 
of the organization. A committee was appointed to investigate the question, 
of which Bro. Lewis Cass — since distinguished for his investigations in another 
field — was- the chairman. The committee reported the example of the Grand 
Lodge of England as a precedent, and the organization was consummated. 
It is strange that any doubt should have been entertained on the subject, as 
the only authority for five Lodges which at that time could have been quoted 
was the spurious one of Dermott. 

§ Tres faciunt collegium. 



424 NATURE OF A GRAND LODGE. 

As soon as the new Grand Lodge is organized, 
it will grant warrants to the Lodges which formed 
it, to take effect upon their surrendering the war- 
rants under which they originally acted to the 
Grand Lodges, from which they had derived them. 
There is no regulation prescribing the precise time 
at which these warrants are to be surrendered ; but 
it seems reasonable to suppose that they could not 
surrender them before the new Grand Lodge is 
organized, because the surrender of a warrant is the 
extinction of a Lodge, and the Lodges must pre- 
serve their vitality to give them power to organize 
the new authority. 

The Grand Lodge thus formed, by the union of 
not less than three Lodges in convention, at once 
assumes all the prerogatives of a Grand Lodge, and 
acquires exclusive Masonic jurisdiction over the 
territory within whose geographical limits it has 
been constituted. No Lodge can continue to exist, 
or be subsequently established in the territory, ex- 
cept under its authority ; and all other Grand 
Lodges are precluded from exercising any Masonic 
authority within the said territory. 

These are all principles of Masonic law "which 
seem to be admitted by universal consent, and sanc- 
tioned by constant usage, in such organizations. 



CHxVPTEE II. 
2Ti)e ^otoers cf a ©Jranfcr jLotSQC 

A Grand Lodge is the supreme Masonic authority 
of the jurisdiction in which it is situated, and faith- 
ful allegiance and implicit obedience is due to it 
from all the Lodges and Masons residing therein. 
Its functions and prerogatives are therefore of the 
most extensive and important nature, and should be 
carefully investigated by every Mason who desires 
to become acquainted, not only with his duties to 
the Order, but with his own rights and privileges 
in it. 

The functions of a Grand Lodge are usually 
divided into three classes. They are — 

1. Legislative; 

2. Judicial; 

3. Executive. 

In its legislative capacity, a Grand Lodge makes 
the raws ; in its judicial, it explains and applies 
them ; and in its executive, it enforces them. Each 
of these functions will require a distinct section for 
its consideration. 



426 LEGISLATIVE POWERS OF 

SECTION I. 
THE LEGISLATIVE POWERS OF A GRAND LODGE. 

The Old York Constitutions of 926 declare that 
" the General Assembly or Grand Lodge shall con- 
sist of Masters and Fellows, Lords, Knights and 
Squires, Mayor and Sheriff, to make new laws and 
to confirm old ones, when necessary. "* 

The Regulations of 1721, enlarging on this defi- 
nition, assert that " every Annual Grand Lodge has 
an inherent power and authority to make new regu- 
lations, or to alter these, for the real benefit of this 
ancient fraternity, provided always that the old 
Landmarks be carefully preserved. "f 

Both of these Regulations, it will be seen, acknow- 
ledge, in unmistakable terms, that the law-making- 
power is vested in the Grand Lodge. But the lat- 
ter one couples this prerogative with a qualification 
of so important a nature that it should be constantly 
borne in mind, when we are speaking of the legis- 
lative function of Grand Lodges. Although the 
Grand Lodge may make laws, these laws must 
never contravene the Landmarks ; for the whole 
power of the Grand Lodge, great as it is, is not 
sufficient to subvert a Landmark. If Jupiter is the 
supreme governor, yet he must yield to the Fates, 
for they arc greater than he. 

The legislative powers of the Grand Lodge are 
therefore limited only by the Landmarks, and be- 
yond these it can never pass. 

* See ante p. 46. f Anderson, first edit. p. 70, ank p. 79. 



A GRAND LODGE. 427 

In June, 1723. an attempt was made to remove 
this restriction, and a regulation was adopted which 
asserted that "it is not in the power of any man or 
body of men to make any alteration or innovation 
in Ike body of Masonry, witliout the consent first ob- 
tained of the Grand Lodge"* which clearly inti- 
mates that with such consent an innovation might 
be made. But at the very next communication, in 
November of the same year, the Grand Lodge re- 
turned to the old conservative principle that " any 
Grand Lodge duly met has a power to amend or 
explain any of the printed regulations in the Book 
of Constitutions, luhile they break not in upon the 
ancient rides of the fraternity. "t 

This prerogative to make new regulations, or to 
amend the old ones, has been therefore exercised 
since the enactment of those of 1721, with the re- 
striction of not touching the Landmarks, not only 
by the Grand Lodge ol England, but by all the 
other Grand Lodges which have since emanated 
from that body, directly or indirectly ; for it is ad- 
mitted that all the functions and powers that were 
possessed by the original Grand Lodge have de- 
scended to every other Grand Lodge that has been 
subsequently instituted, so far as the jurisdiction of 
each is concerned. 

But this law-making power is of course restrained 
within certain limits by those fixed rules of legis- 
lative policy which are familiar to every jurist. 
1. In the first place, a Grand Lodge can make no 

* Axdeeson, second edL*. p. 175. f Ibid, p. 175. 



128 LEGISLATIVE POWERS OF 

regulation which is in violation of or contradictory 
to any one of the well settled Landmarks of the 
Order. Thus, were a Grand Lodge, by a new regu- 
lation, to abolish the office of Grand Master, such 
legislation would be null and void, and no Mason 
would be bound to obey it ; for nothing in the 
whole Masonic system is more undoubted than the 
Landmark which requires the institution to be pre- 
sided over by such an officer. And hence this doc- 
trine of the supremacy of the Landmarks has been 
clearly admitted in the very article which asserts 
for Grand Lodges the power of making new 
regulations. 

2. The legislation of every Grand Lodge must be 
prospective, and not retrospective in its action. To 
make an ex post facto law, would be to violate the 
principles of justice which lie at the very foundation 
of the system. " It was a maxim of the Roman law 
that " no one could change his mind to the injury 
of another,"! which maxim, says Mr. Broom, " has 
by the civilians been specifically applied as a re- 
striction upon the law-giver, who was thus forbid- 
den to change his mind to the prejudice of a vested 
rights 

* " Every statute which takes away or impairs a vested right acquired 
under existing laws, or creates a new obligation, imposes a new duty, or at- 
taches a new disability, in respect of transactions or considerations already 
past, may be deemed retrospective in its operation, and opposed to those 
principles of jurisprudence which have been universally recognized as sound.' 1 
■.-Bkooai, Leg. Max. p. 28. 

f " Nemo potest mutare consilium suum in altering mjunam." 

% Leg. Max. p. 29. 



A GRAND LODGE. 429 

3. A Grand Lodge cannot permanently alter or 
lepeal any one of its by-laws or regulations, except 
in the mode which it has itself provided ; for it is 
a maxim of the law that the same means are neces- 
sary to dissolve as to create an obligation."* Thus, 
if it is a part of the by-laws of a Grand Lodge that 
no amendment to them can be adopted unless it be 
read on two separate days, and then passed by a 
vote of two-thirds, it is not competent for such a 
Grand Lodge to make an amendment to its by-laws 
at one reading, and by merely a majority of votes. 

But it has been held that a Grand Lodge may 
temporarily suspend the action of any one of its by- 
laws by an unanimous vote, without being compelled 
to pass it through a second reading. Thus, if the 
by-laws of a Grand Lodge require that a certain 
officer shall be elected by ballot, it may, by unani- 
mous consent, resolve to elect, in a particular in- 
stance, by a show of hands. But after such election, 
the original by-law will be restored, and the next 
election must be gone through by ballot, unless by 
unanimous consent it is again suspended. 

4. A Grand Lodge has the power of making by- 
laws for its subordinates ; for the by-laws of every 
Lodge are a part of the Regulations of Masonry, and 
it is the prerogative of a Grand Lodge alone to 
make new regulations. Yet, for the sake of con- 
venience, a Grand Lodge will, and most Grand 
Lodges do, delegate to their subordinates the duty 
of proposing by-laws for their own government ; 

* " Eodeni modo quo quid cofcstituitur, eodem modo dissolvitur." — Coke. 



430 LEGISLATIVE POWERS OF 

but these by-laws must be approved and confirmed 
by the Grand Lodge before they become permanent 
regulations. And a Grand Lodge may at any time 
abrogate the by-laws, or any part of them, or of any 
one or all of its subordinates ; for, as the power of 
proposing by-laws is not an inherent prerogative in 
the Lodges, but one delegated by the Grand Lodge, 
it may at any time be withdrawn or revoked, and a 
Grand Lodge may establish a uniform code of by- 
laws for the government of its subordinates. 

It is from the fact that a Lodge only proposes its 
by-laws, which the Grand Lodge enacts, that the 
principle arises that the Lodge cannot suspend any 
one of its by-laws, even with unanimous consent, for 
here the maxim of law already cited applies, and the 
same method must be adopted in abolishing as in 
creating an obligation. That is to say, the by law 
having been enacted by the Grand Lodge, that body 
alone can suspend its operation. 

5. But the most important prerogative that a 
Grand Lodge can exercise in its legislative capacity 
is that of granting warrants of constitution for the 
establishment of subordinate Lodges. Important, 
however, as is this prerogative, it is not an inherent 
one, possessed by the Grand Lodge from time im- 
memorial, but is the result of a concession granted 
by the Lodges in the year 1717 ; for formerly, as I 
have already shown, all Masons enjoyed the right 
of meeting in Lodges without the necessity of a 
warrant, and it was not until the re-organization 
of the Grand Lodge, in the beginning of the last 



A GRAND LODGE. 431 

century, that this right was surrendered. Preston 
gives the important Regulation which was adopted 
in 1717. in which it is declared that warrants must 
be granted by the Grand Master, " with the consent 
and approbation of the Grand Lodge in communi- 
cation.-"* Anderson does not give this Regulation, 
nor will anything be found in the Regulations which 
were approved in 1721, respecting the necessity of 
the consent and approbation of the Grand Lodge. 
On the contrary, the whole tenor of those Regula- 
tions appears to vest the right of granting war- 
rants in the Grand Master exclusively,'!* and the 
modern Constitutions of the Grand Lodge of Eng- 
land are to the same effect. J But in this country it 

* As this Regulation is an important one, I give it in the exact words of 
Preston: "That the privilege of assembling as Masons, which had been 
hitherto unlimited, should be vested in certain Lodges or Assemblies of 
Masons, convened in certain places ; and that every Lodge to be hereafter 
convened, except the four old Lodges at this time existing, should be legally 
authorized to act by a warrant from the Grand Master for the time being, 
granted to certain individuals by petition, with the consent and approbation 
of the Grand Lodge in communication ; and that without such warrant no 
Lodge should be hereafter deemed regular or constitutional."— Preston, 
p. 182, Oliver's edit. 

t Thus : " They must obtain the Grand Master's warrant to join in form- 
ing a new Lodge.'' — Reg. viii. " If any set or number of Masons shall take 
upon themselves to form a Lodge, without the Grand Master's warrant," &c. 
— Reg. ix. " And this Lodge being thus completely constituted, shall be 
registered in the Grand Master's book, and by his order notified to the other 
Lodges." — Anderson, first edit. p. 72. 

X " Every application for a warrant to hold a new Lodge must be by peti- 
tion to the Grand Master."— Const, of G. L. of England, 1847, p. 122. In 
the third and subsequent editions of the Book of Constitutions, we find an im- 
portant paragraph, which shows that in 1741, the right of granting warrants 
was expressly admitted to be the exclusive prerogative of Grand Masters. 
In that year " it was also ordered that no new Lodge for the future should be 
constituted within the bills of mortality, without the consent of the bret}»--°-n. 



432 LEGISLATIVE POWERS OP 

has been the universal usage to restrict the power 
of the Grand Master to the granting of temporary 
dispensations, while the prerogative of granting 
permanent warrants is exclusively vested in the 
Grand Lodge. 

G. Coincident with this prerogative of granting 
warrants is that of revoking them. But as this 
prerogative should only be exercised for cause 
shown, and after some process of trial, it appears to 
me that it will be more appropriately discussed 
when we come to the consideration of the judicial 
functions of a Grand Lodge. 

7. The taxing power is another prerogative of a 
Grand Lodge. Every Grand Lodge has the right 
to impose a tax on its subordinate Lodges, or on all 
the affiliated Masons living within its jurisdiction. 
The tax upon individual Masons is, however, gene- 
rally indirect. Thus, the Grand Lodge requires a 
certain contribution or subsidy from each of its 
subordinates, the amount of which is always in pro- 
portion to the number of its members and the ex- 
tent of its work, and the Lodges make up this 
contribution by imposing a tax upon their members. 
It is very rarely that a Grand Lodge resorts to a 
direct tax upon the Masons of its jurisdiction. At 
present I recollect but two instances in which such 

assembled in quarterly communication be first obtained for that purpose. 
But this order afterwards appearing to be an infringement on the preroga- 
tive of the Grand Master, and to be attended with many inconveniences 
and with damage to the craft, was repealed." — Book of Const, edit. 17G9, 
p. 247. This record throws a reasonable doubt on the authenticity of the 
regulation quoted by Prestoa. 



A GRAND LODGE. 433 

a right lias been exercised, namely, by the Grand 
Lodges of Louisiana and Arkansas. In the former 
instance, as there appeared to be some opposition to 
the doctrine, the Grand Lodge in 1855 adopted a 
resolution, in which it declared that it did not 
" assert its power to tax unconditionally, or for ex- 
traordinary purposes, the constituent Lodges."* 

I am at some loss to understand the distinct mean- 
ing of this proposition ; but if it is intended to deny 
the prerogative of the Grand Lodge to levy any 
kind or amount of tax that it deems expedient on 
either the subordinate Lodges or their individual 
members, I am compelled to refuse my assent to 
such a proposition. That the power to impose 
taxes is a prerogative of every sovereignty is a doc- 
trine which it would be an act of supererogation to 
defend, for no political economist has ever doubted 
it.f The only qualification which it admits is, that 
the persons taxed should be entitled to a voice, di- 
rectly or indirectly, in the imposition ; for taxation 
without representation is universally admitted to 
be one of the most odious forms of tyranny. But 
as a Grand Lodge, as the supreme Masonic author- 
ity in every jurisdiction, is invested with all the 
attributes of sovereignty, and is besides a repre- 
sentative body, it follows that the unconditional 
power of taxation must reside in it as one of the 
prerogatives of its sovereignty. And if the par- 

* Proceedings of the G. L. of Louisiana, 1855, p. 80. 
t "Taxes," says Cicero, " are the sinews of the State."' Vectigalm 
nerui sunt reipubli'jce. 

19 



434 LEGISLATIVE POWERS OF 

tieular species or amount of taxation is deemed op- 
pressive or even inexpedient, it is easy for the 
subordinate Lodges, by the exercise of the power 
of instruction which they possess, to amend or alto- 
gether to remove the objectionable imposition. 

But the question assumes a different aspect when 
it relates to the taxation of unaffiliated Masons. I 
am compelled, after a mature consideration of the 
subject, to believe that the levying of a tax upon 
unaffiliated Masons is contrary to the spirit of the 
institution, the principles of justice, and the dic- 
tates of expediency. It is contrary to the spirit of 
our institution : Masonry is a voluntary association, 
and no man should be compelled to remain in it a 
moment longer than lie feels the wish to do so.* It 
is contrary to the principles of justice, for taxation 
should always be contingent upon representation ; 
but an unaffiliated is not represented in the body 
which imposes the tax. And lastly, it is contrary 
to the dictates of expediency, for a tax upon such 
Masons would be a tacit permission and almost an 
encouragement of the practice of non-affiliation. It 
maybe said that it is a penalty inflicted for an 
offence ; but in reality it would be considered, like 
the taxes of the Roman chancery, simply as the cost 
of a license for the perpetration of a crime. If a 
Mason refuses, by affiliation and the payment of 

* "We recognize fully the doctrine laid down in the Ancient Constitutions, 
1 that it is the duty of every Mason to belong to some regular Lodge.' But 
as his entrance into the fraternity is of his own free will and accord, so 
should be the performance of this and every other Masonic duty."'- -Special 
Com. G. L. of Ohio, 1854. See Proc. from 1848 to 1857, p. 384. 



A GRAND LODGE. 435 

dues to a Lodge, to support the institution, let Mm, 
after due trial, be punished, by deprivation of all 
bis Masonic privileges, by suspension or expulsion ; 
but no Grand Lodge should, by the imposition of a 
tax, remove from non-affiliation its character of a 
Masonic offence. The notion would not for a 
moment be entertained of imposing a tax on all 
Masons who lived in violation of their obligations ; 
and I can see no difference between the collection 
of a tax for non-affiliation and that for habitual in- 
temperance, except in the difference of grade be- 
tween the two offences. The principle is precisely 
the same. 

SECTION II. 

THE JUDICIAL POWERS OF A GRAND LODGE. 

In the exercise of its judicial functions, a Grand 
Lodge becomes the interpreter and administrator 
of the laws which it had enacted in its legislative 
capacity. The judicial powers of a Grand Lodge, 
according to the Old Constitutions, are both origi- 
nal and appellate, although it more frequently exer- 
cises the prerogative and duties of an appellate than 
of an original jurisdiction. 

In England, at this day, all cases of expulsion 
must be tried under the original jurisdiction of the 
Grand Lodge, for there no private Lodge can inflict 
this penalty upon any one of its members ;* but in 

* " In the Grand Lodge alone resides the power of erasing Lodges, and 
expelling brethren from the craft, a power which it ought not to delegate td 
any subordinate authority in England." — Const. G. L. of Eng. 1847. 



136 JUDICIAL POWERS OF 

this country constant usage, which, according to 
Sir Edward Coke, is the best interpreter of the 
laws,* has conferred the power of expulsion upon 
the subordinate Lodges, and hence such cases sel- 
dom come before the Grand Lodge, except in the 
way of appeal, when, of course, it exercises its appel- 
late jurisdiction, and may amend or wholly set aside 
the sentence of its subordinate. Still, this must be 
viewed as only a tacit or implied concession, unless, 
as sometimes is the case, a Grand Lodge in express 
terms divests itself of original jurisdiction, which, 
of course, under the authority to make new regula- 
tions, it may. 

But the general spirit of the ancient law is, 
that the Grand Lodge may at all times exer- 
cise original jurisdiction. And hence, where a 
Grand Lodge has not, by special enactment, di- 
vested itself of the prerogative of original jurisdic- 
tion, it may, by its own process, proceed to the 
trial and punishment of any Mason living within 
its jurisdiction. This course, however, although 
strictly in accordance with the Ancient Constitu- 
tions, is not usual, nor would it be generally expe- 
dient, and hence some Grand Lodges have specially 
confined their judicial prerogatives to an appellate 
jurisdiction, and require the inception of every 
trial to take place in a subordinate Lodge. 

But I know of no matter in which a Grand Lodge 
may not, according to the ancient law and custom, 
exercise an original jurisdiction ; for, although a 

* " Consuetude) est optimus interpres legum." i 



A GRAND LODGE. 437 

Grand Lodge in tins country Mil, by tacit consent, 
and sometimes by explicit enactment,* permit a 
subordinate Lodge to exercise judicial powers, and 
will allow its judgment to stand, unless there be an 
appeal from it, yet, if the original jurisdiction was 
assumed by the subordinate, only by this tacit con- 
sent, and not, as in the case of Ohio, by express 
grant, then the original jurisdiction continues to be 
vested in the Grand Lodge, and may at any time be 
resumed. For there is no fact in the history of 
Masonic jurisprudence more certain than that the 
General Assembly or Grand Lodge always in ancient 
times exercised an original jurisdiction and super- 
vision over the whole craft. t Hence offences were 
formerly always tried in that body ; and it is only 
since the re-organization in 1717, that the Grand 
Lodge has neglected to exercise its prerogative of 
original jurisdiction, and for the purposes of con- 
venience, perhaps, permitted the subordinate Lodges 
to try offences, restricting itself in general to an 

* Ohio, for instance, gives the power of discipline to its subordinates, and 
reserves to the Grand Lodge only appellate jurisdiction. — Const. Reg. xxii. 
But New York, while granting this power of discipline to its subordinates, 
does not divest itself of the prerogative to exercise original jurisdiction. — 
Const. § 12. 

t Thus the old York Constitutions of 926 (point 10) say : " If a Mason 
live amiss or slander his brother, so as to bring the craft to shame, he shall 
have no further maintenance among the brethren, but shall be summoned to 
the next Grand Lodge, and if he refuse to appear, he shall be expelled ;" 
and in the Ancient Charges at Makings, it is provided that " every Master 
and Fellow shall come to the Assembly, (that is, the General Assembly, as is 
evident from the context,) if it be within fifty miles of him, if he have any 
warning, and if he have trespassed against the craft, to abide the award of 
Masters and Fellows." 



438 LEGISLATIVE POWERS OP 

appellate revision of the case.* But although, under 
ordinary circumstances, it is a maxim of law that 
rights are forfeited by non-user, yet such maxim 
cannot apply to the Grand Lodge, which, as a sove- 
reign body, can have none of its rights barred by 
lapse of timc,t and may therefore at any time re- 
sume its original jurisdiction. 

But in matters of dispute between two Lodges, 
and in the case of charges against the Master of a 
Lodge, the Grand Lodge is obliged to exercise ori- 
ginal jurisdiction ; for there is no other tribunal 
which is competent to try such cases. 

In the exercise of its judicial functions, the Grand 
Lodge may proceed either in its General Assembly 
or by committee, whose report will be acted on by 
the Grand Lodge. But the form of trial will be 
the subject of future consideration in a subsequent 
part of this work. 

The Grand Lodge may, in the case of an appeal, 
amend the sentence of its subordinate, by either a 
diminution or increase of the punishment, or it may 
wholly reverse it, or it may send the case back for 

* The Charges which were approved in 1722 say, that "if a brother do 
you an injury, apply first to your own or his Lodge ; and if you are not satis- 
fied, you may appeal to the Grand Lodge." But this does not preclude the 
Grand Lodge from instituting an inquiry itself into the conduct of any 
brother; and the records from 1717 onwards give several instances where 
the Grand Lodge did exercise original jurisdiction, as in the case of " certain 
brethren suspected of being concerned in an irregular making of Masons," 
which was tried in 1739, and in that of Bro. Scott, tried in 1766.— See Book 
of Const, fourth edit. pp. 228 and 305. 

t The maxim of the law that " nullum tempus occurrit regi" applies to the 
Grand Lodge as the sovereign of Masonry. 



A GRAND LODGE. 439 

trial. And in any one of these events, its decision 
is final ; for there is no higher body in Masonry 
who can entertain an appeal from the decision of a 
Grand Lodge. 

Among the important prerogatives exercised by 
a Grand Lodge in its judicial capacity, is that of 
revoking warrants of constitution. Although, as I 
have already shown, there is a discrepancy between 
the present American practice, which vests the 
granting of warrants in Grand Lodges, and the old 
Constitutions, which gave the power to Grand Mas- 
ters, there is no doubt that the Grand Lodge has 
constantly exercised the prerogative of revoking 
warrants from the year 1742, when the first mention 
is made of such action, until the present day. But 
all the precedents go to show that no such revoca- 
tion has ever been made except upon cause shown, 
and after due summons and inquiry. The arbitrary 
revocation of a warrant would be an act of oppres- 
sion and injustice, contrary to the whole spirit of the 
Masonic institution. 

SECTION III. 

THE EXECUTIVE POWERS OF A GRAND LODGE. 

In the exercise of its executive functions, the 
Grand Lodge carries its laws into effect, and sees 
that they are duly enforced. But as a Grand Lodge 
is in session only during a few days of the year, it is 
necessary that these functions should be exercised 
for it, by some one acting as its agent ; and hence, 



440 EXECUTIVE POWERS OF 

to use the language of the Grand Lodge of New 
York, " all the executive powers of a Grand Lodge, 
when not in session, are reposed in its Grand 
Master."* 

The Grand Master is therefore, in this discharge 
of executive powers, the representative of the Grand 
Lodge. That "body having first, in its legislative 
capacity, made the law, and then, in its judicial 
capacity, having applied it to a particular case, 
finally, in its executive capacity, enforces its de- 
cision through the agency of its presiding officer. 
The Grand Master cannot make laws nor adminis- 
ter them, for these are the prerogatives of the 
Grand Lodge ; but he may enforce them, because 
this is a power that has been delegated to him. 

The conferring of degrees is an interesting and 
important exercise of the executive functions of a 
Grand Lodge, which is entitled to careful considera- 
tion. The question to be discussed is this : Has a 
Grand Lodge the power to confer the degrees of 
Masonry on a candidate ? In the years 1851 and 
1852, this question was the subject of controversy 
between the Grand Lodges of Wisconsin, Florida 
and Iowa — the two former claiming, and the latter 
denying the right. Let us endeavor to come to a 
right conclusion on this subject by a careful ex- 
amination of the ancient laws and usages. 

The earliest written Constitutions that we have— 
those of York in 926 — show, without doubt, that 
Apprentices were at that time made by their own 

* Const. G. L. of New York, § 10, 



A GRAND LODGE. 441 

Masters. The law is not so clear as to where Fel- 
low Crafts were made, and we are obliged to resign 
all hope of finding an}' reference to the making of 
Master Masons, as ail the old Constitutions previous 
to 1721 are silent on this subject. Either the de- 
gree did not then exist, as we now have it, or this 
was clearly a casus omissus. 

The Constitutions of Edward III., in the four- 
teenth century, are equally uncertain ; but in the 
third article is a phrase which seems to admit that 
Fellow Crafts might be made in a subordinate 
Lodge, for it is said that when a Lodge meets, the 
Sheriff, the Mayor, or the Alderman " should be 
made Fellow, or sociate to the Master.' 7 If the ex- 
pression " made Fellow" is here to be interpreted in 
its Masonic meaning, then there can be no doubt 
that a Lodge might at that time confer the second 
degree : and I suppose, by analogy, the third. But 
of the correctness of this interpretation there may 
be a reasonable doubt, and if so, these Constitutions 
give us no light on the subject. 

By the middle of the seventeenth century, we be- 
gin to find some definite authority, both in private 
records and in Constitutions. Elias Ashmole, the 
celebrated antiquary, tells us in his diary that he 
was made a Freemason on the 16th October, 1646, 
at Warrington, in Lancashire, " by Mr. Richard 
Penket, the Warden and the Fellow Crafts." This, 
then, was evidently in a subordinate Lodge. And 
in the Regulations adopted by the General Assembly 
in 1663. it is expressly stated that " no person, of 



442 EXECUTIVE POWERS OF 

what degree soever, be made or accepted a "Free* 
mason, unless in a regular Lodge, whereof one to 
be a Master or a Warden in that limit or division 
where such Lodge is kept, and another to be a 
craftsman in the trade of Freemasonry."* 

Still later, about the year 1683, we find it stated 
in "The Ancient Charges at Makings" "that no 
Master nor Fellow take no allowance to be made 
Mason without the assistance of his Fellows, at least 
six or seven. "t 

Preston also furnishes us with authority on this 
subject, and tells us that previous to the beginning 
of the eighteenth century, a sufficient number of 
brethren might meet together without warrant, 
make Masons, and practise the rites of Masonry.;): 

But in 1722, a Regulation was adopted by the 
Grand Lodge of England, which declared thai 
Entered Apprentices must be admitted Fellow 
Crafts and Masters only in the Grand Lodge, unless 
by a dispensation from the Grand Master. § 

This Regulation continued in force, however, only 
for three years ; for, in November, 1725, it was 
enacted that " the Master of a Lodge, with his 
Wardens and a competent number of the Lodge, 
assembled in due form, can make Masters and Fel- 
lows at discretion. "|| And ever since, the subordi- 

* See ante p. 49. $ Preston, p. 182, note. 

t See ante p. 51. § Reg. of 1722, No. xiii. 

|| See Anderson, second edit. p. 160. The reason is assigned in the third 
edition of the Book of Constitutions for this almost immediate repeal of the 
law, namely, that " it was attended with many inconveniences." — See third 
edit. p. 280 



A GRAND LODGE. 443 

nate Lodges have continued to confer all the de- 
grees, while the records do not give a single instance 
of their being conferred, subsequent to that date, in 
the Grand Lodge.* 

The facts, then, in relation to this subject appeal* 
to be briefly as follows : that as far back as we can 
trace by written records, the subordinate Lodges 
were authorized to confer all the degrees ; that in 
1722, or perhaps a year or two sooner ,t this power, 
so far as the second and third degrees were con- 
cerned, was taken from the Lodges and deposited 
in the Grand Lodge ; that in 1725, this change 
being found to be productive of inconvenience, the 
old system was restored, and the Lodges were again 
permitted to confer all the degrees. 

I cannot doubt, from this statement of facts, that 
the attempt on the part of the Grand Lodge in 
1722 to deprive the Lodges of their right to confer 
all the degrees, was a violation of an ancient Land- 
mark, and I am inclined to attribute its speedy re- 
peal as much to a conviction of this fact as to the 
acknowledged reason of its inconvenience. 

But while I contend that all regular Lodges have 
an inherent right to enter, pass and raise Free 
masons, of which no Grand Lodge can deprive them, 

* The instances quoted of the initiation of the Duke of Lorraine, the Prince 
of Wales, and a few others, were not examples of the degrees being confer- 
red in a Grand Lodge, but of Masons made " at sight" by the Grand Master 
in " occasional Lodges." 

t There is a record that the degrees were conferred in the Grand Lodge 
by Payne, Grand Master, on the 24th June, 1721 ; but we find no subsequent 
record to the same effect. 



444 EXECUTIVE POWERS OF A GRAND LODGE. 

except by forfeiture of warrant, I cannot deny the 
same prerogative to a Grand Lodge ; for I cannot 
see how an assemblage of Masons, congregated in 
their supreme capacity, can have less authority to 
transact all the business of Masonry than an in- 
ferior and subordinate body. 

But I am equally convinced that the exercise of 
this prerogative by a Grand Lodge is, under almost 
all circumstances that I can conceive, most inexpe- 
dient, and that the custom of conferring degrees 
should be, as a matter of policy, confined to the 
subordinate Lodges. 



CHAPTER III. 
8 jje (Dfftcevs o! a ©rantr &otrge. 

The officers of a Grand Lodge, if we look to 
their ritual importance, are either Essential or Acci- 
dental. The Essential Officers are the Grand Mas- 
ter, the Grand Wardens, the Grand Treasurer, the 
Grand Secretary, and the Grand Tiler. All other 
officers are accidental, and most of them the result 
of comparatively recent Regulations. 

But they are more usually divided into Grand 
and Subordinate Officers. 

The Grand Officers are the Grand and Deputy 
Grand Masters, the Grand Wardens, Grand Treasu- 
rer, Grand Secretary and Grand Chaplain. To 
these, in many jurisdictions, has been added the office 
of Grand Lecturer. 

The Subordinate Officers are the Grand Deacons, 
Grand Marshal, Grand Pursuivant, Grand Sword 
Bearer, Grand Stewards and Grand Tiler. 

Committees of Foreign Correspondence, from 
their importance, seem also to be entitled to a place 
in the consideration of the officers of a Grand Lodge. 

The examination of the duties and prerogatives 
of each of these officers will claim a distinct section 
of the present chapter. 



446 GRAND MASTER. 

SECTION I. 

THE GRAND MASTER. 

The office of Grand Master is one of such anti« 
quity as to be coeval with the very origin of the 
institution, whether we look at that origin in a tra- 
ditional or in an historical point of view. There 
never has been a time in which the Order has not 
been governed by a chief presiding officer under 
this name. 

From this fact we derive the important principle 
that the office of Grand Master is independent of 
the Grand Lodge, and that all his prerogatives and 
duties, so far as they are connected generally with 
the craft, are inherent in the office, and not derived 
from, nor amenable to, any modern Constitutions.* 

The whole records of our written and traditional 
history show, that Grand Masters have repeatedly 
existed without a Grand Lodge, but never a Grand 
Lodge without a Grand Master. And this is be- 
cause the connection of the Grand Master is essen- 
tially with the craft at large, and only incidentally 
with the Grand Lodge. He is neither elected, in- 
stalled, nor saluted as the " Grand Master of the 
Grand Lodge/ 7 but as the " Grand Master of 
Masons ; J? f and if the institution, so far as relates to 

* " The claim that the Grand Master is the creature of the Grand Lodge 
is contrary to recorded history, and to every tradition on this subject that is 
contained in the arcana of Masoniy." — Com. of For. Corresp. G. L. of N. 
Y., 1854, p. 107. 

f Thus, in 1724, we find it recorded that " Brother Dalkeith stood up, and 
bowing to the assembly, thanked them for the honor he had of being their 



GRAND MASTER. 447 

its present organization, was again to be resolved 
into the condition which it occupied previous to 
the year 1717, and the Grand Lodge were to be 
abolished, in consequence of the resumption by the 
subordinate Lodges of their original prerogatives, 
the office of Grand Master would be unaffected by 
such revolution, and that officer would still remain 
in possession of all his powers, because his office is 
inseparable from the existence of the fraternity. 
and he would be annually elected as formerly, by 
the craft in their " General Assembly." In accord- 
ance with these views, we find Anderson recording 
that in the year 926, at the city of York, Prince 
Edwin, as Grand Master, summoned the craft, who 
then " composed a Grand Lodge, of which he was 
the Grand Master." The Grand Lodge did not 
constitute him as their Grand Master, for the ap- 
pointment of Grand Master, according to the record 7 
preceded the organization of the Grand Lodge. 

Again : both 'Anderson and Preston show us a 
long list of Grand Masters who were not even 
elected by the Grand Lodge, but held their appoint- 
ment from the King. In 1683, a Regulation was 
adopted, declaring " that, for the future, the frater- 
nity of Freemasons shall be regulated and governed 
by one Grand Master, and as many Wardens as the 
said society shall think fit to appoint at every an- 
nual General Assembly," which Assembly, it must 

Grand Master, and then proclaimed aloud the most noble Prince and ouz 
Brother, Charles Lennox, Duke of Eichmond and Lennox, Grand Masteb 
of Masons !" and so on throughout the Book of Constitutions. 



448 GRAND MASTER. 

bo recollected, was not, as now, a Grand Lodge, 
consisting of the representatives of Lodges, but a 
mass meeting of all the members of the craft. 
Again : an attentive perusal of the history of the 
present organization of Grand Lodges on St. John 
the Baptist's day, 1717, will show that the craft 
first, in General Assembly, elected their Grand 
Master, who then appointed his Wardens, and estab- 
lished a Grand Lodge, by summoning the Masters 
and Wardens of the Lodges to meet him in quar- 
terly communication. In short, everything of an 
authentic nature in the history of Masonry shows 
that the Grand Master is the officer and the organ 
of the craft in general, and not of the Grand Lodge, 
and that although for purposes of convenience, the 
fraternity have, for the last one hundred and thirty- 
five years, conceded to their Masters and Wardens 
in Grand Lodge convened the privilege of electing 
him for them, such concession does not impair his 
rights, nor destroy the intimate and immediate con- 
nection which exists between him and the craft at 
large, to whom alone he can be said to have any 
rightful responsibility. 

All of this very clearly shows — and this is, I 
think, the general opinion of Masonic jurists — that, 
with the exception of a few unimportant powers, 
conferred for local purposes, by various Grand 
Lodges, and which necessarily differ in different 
jurisdictions, every prerogative exercised by a 
Grand Master is an inherent one — that is to say, 
not created by any special statute of the Grand 



GRAND MASTER. 449 

Lodge, but the result and the concomitant of his 
high office, whose duties and prerogatives existed 
long before the organization of Grand Lodges. 

The responsibility of the Grand Master presents 
itself as the next important question. Invested 
with these high an I inalienable functions, to whom 
is he responsible fcr their faithful discharge, and by 
whom and how is he to be punished for his official 
misdemeanors ? These are important and difficult 
questions, which have occupied the attention and 
divided the opinions of the most eminent Masonic 
jurists. 

It is not to be doubted that the Grand Master is 
not an irresponsible officer. To deny this broad 
principle would be to destroy the very foundations 
on which the whole system of Masonic legislation is 
built. Democratic as it is in its tendencies, and 
giving to every member a voice in the government 
of the institution, it has always sustained the great 
doctrine of responsibility as the conservative ele- 
ment in its system of polity. The individual Mason 
is governed by his Lodge ; the Master is controlled 
by the Grand Lodge ; the Grand Lodge is restrained 
by the ancient Landmarks : and if the Grand Mas- 
ter were not also responsible to some superior 
power, he alone would be the exception to that 
perfect adjustment of balances which pervades and 
directs the whole machinery of Masonic govern- 
ment. 

The theory on this subject appears to me to be. 
that the Grand Master is responsible to the crafi 



450 GRAND MASTER. 

for the faithful performance of the duties of his 
office. I can entertain no doubt that originally ii 
was competent for any General Assembly to enter- 
tain jurisdiction over" the Grand Master, because, 
until the year 1717, the General Assembly was the 
whole body of the craft, and as such, was the 
only body possessing general judicial powers in 
the Order ; and if he was not responsible to it, 
then lie must of necessity have been altogether 
without responsibility ; and this would have made 
the government of the institution despotic, which 
is directly contrary to the true features of its 
policy. 

How this jurisdiction of the craft in their General 
Assembly was to be exercised over the Grand Mas- 
ter, we have no means of determining, since the 
records of the Order furnish us with no precedent. 
But we may suppose that in the beginning, when 
Grand Masters were appointed by the reigning 
monarch, that jurisdiction, if necessary, would have 
been exercised by way of petition or remonstrance 
to the king, and this view is supported by the 
phraseology of the Constitutions of 926, which say, 
that " in ail ages to come, the existing General 
Assembly shall petition the king to confer his sanc- 
tion on their proceedings.' 7 

As the power of deposition or other punishment 
vras vested, in those early days, in the reigning 
monarch, because he was the appointer of the Grand 
Master, it follows, by a parity of reasoning, that 
when the appointment was bestowed upon the 



GRAND MASTER. 451 

General Assembly, the power of punishment was 
vested in that body also. 

But in the course of time, the General Assembly 
of the craft gave way to the Grand Lodge, which is 
not a congregation of the craft in their primary 
capacity, but a congregation of certain officers in 
their representative capacity. And we find that in 
the year 1717, the Masons delegated the powers 
which they originally possessed to the Grand Lodge, 
to be exercised by their Masters and Wardens, in 
trust for themselves. Among these powers which 
were thus delegated, was that of exercising penal 
jurisdiction over the Grand Master. The fact that 
this power was delegated, is not left to conjecture ; 
for, among the Regulations adopted in 1721, we 
find one which recognizes the prerogative in these 
emphatic words : " If the Grand Master should 
abuse his power, and render himself unworthy of the 
obedience and subjection of the Lodges, he shall be 
treated in a way and manner to be agreed upon in 
a new Regulation, because hitherto the ancient fra- 
ternity have had no occasion for it — their former 
Grand Masters having all behaved themselves 
worthy of that honorable office.' 7 * 

This article comprises three distinct statements ; 
first, that the Grand Master is responsible for any 
abuse of his power ; secondly, that a Regulation 
may at any time be made to provide the mode of 
exercising jurisdiction over him ; and lastly, that 
such Regulation never has been made, simply be- 

* Regulations of 1721, art xix. 



452 GRAND MASTER. 

cause there was no necessity for it, and not because 
there was no power to enact it. 

Now, the method of making new Regulations is 
laid down in precise terms in the last of these very 
Regulations of 1721. The provisions are, that the 
Landmarks shall be preserved, and that the new 
Regulation be proposed and agreed to at the 
third quarterly communication preceding the annual 
Grand Feast, and that it be also offered to the 
perusal of all the brethren before dinner, in writing, 
even of the youngest Apprentice — the approbation 
and consent of the majority of all the brethren 
being absolutely necessary to make it binding and 
obligatory. 

It is evident that a literal compliance with all the 
requisitions of this Regulation has now become al- 
together impracticable. Entered Apprentices have 
no longer, by general consent, any voice in the 
government of the Order, and quarterly communi- 
cations, as well as the annual Grand Feast, have 
almost everywhere been discontinued. Hence we 
must apply to the interpretation of this statute the 
benign principles of a liberal construction.* We 
can only endeavor substantially, and as much as 
possible in the spirit of the law, to carry out the in- 
tentions of those who framed the Regulation. 

It seems to me, then, that these intentions will be 
obeyed for all necessary purposes, if a new Regula- 
tion be adopted at an annual meeting of the Grand 

* " Benigne fnciendse sunt interpretationes et verba intentioni debent iu 
servire." — Law Maxim 



GKAXD MASTER. 453 

Lodge, and by the same majority which is required 
to amend or alter any clause of the Constitution.* 
The power to make new Regulations, which was 
claimed by the Grand Lodge of England in 1721, 
and afterwards reasserted in 1723, in still more ex- 
plicit terms, is equally vested in every other regu- 
larly organized Grand Lodge which has been since 
established, and which is, by virtue of its organiza- 
tion, the representative, in the limits of its own juris- 
diction, of the original Grand Lodge which met at 
the Apple-tree tavern in 1717. 

With these preliminary observations, we are now 
prepared to enter upon an investigation of the pre- 
rogatives and duties of a Grand Master. 

1. The Grand Master has the right to convene 
the Grand Lodge on any special occasion, at such 
time and place as he may deem expedient. The 
Constitution of the Grand Lodge necessarily must 
designate a time and place for the annual communi- 
cation, which it is not in the power of the Grand 
Master to change. But on the occurrence of any 
emergency, which may. in his opinion, render a 
special communication necessary, the Grand Master 

* Bro. Albert Pike confirms this view in his admirable report on foreign 
correspondence in the Grand Lodge of Arkansas : " Every Grand Lodge 
can make any new regulation which changes no Landmark. The nineteenth 
article declares that a new regulation may be made on this subject. That 
being so, and the thirty-ninth declaring that none can be made to change a 
Landmark, of course this would not change a Landmark, or else it could not 
be made. We cannot doubt, then, that constitutional provisions might be 
made for dealing with a Grand Master during his terra of office ; but cer- 
tainly it could not be done in any other way." — Proc. G-. L. of Ark., 1854, 
p. 122. 



454 GRAND MASTEE. 

possesses the prerogative of convoking the Grand 
Lodge, and may select such time and place for the 
convocation as he deems most convenient or appro 
priate. This prerogative has been so repeatedly 
exercised by Grand Masters, from the earliest times 
to the present day, that it seems to be unnecessary 
to furnish any specific precedents out of the multi- 
tude that the most cursory reading of the old re- 
cords would supply.* 

2. The Grand Master has the right to preside 
over every assembly of the craft, wheresoever and 
whensoever held. This is a Landmark of the 
Order,t and consequently the right of the Grand 
Master to preside at all meetings of the Grand 
Lodge, which is derived from it, is an inherent right, 
of which no constitutional provision can deprive 
him. From this prerogative is also derived the 
principle that the Grand Master may assume the 
chair of any private Lodge in which he may be 
present, and govern the Lodge as its Master. He 
is also, by virtue of the same prerogative, the chair- 
man of every committee of the Grand Lodge which 
he may choose to attend. He is, in brief, the head 

* Thus, " Prince Edwin summoned all the Masons in the realm to meet 
him in a congregation at York." — Anderson, first edit., p. 32. On the 
occasion of Wharton's irregularities in 1722, Montagu, G. M., " summoned 
the Grand Lodge to meet, 17th January." — Ibid, second edit. p. 114. Carys- 
fort, G. M., in 1754, " signified his pleasure that the d;iy for the Grand 
Feast and election should be the 2.5th of March, instant, and kept at Drapers' 
Hall." — Ibid, third edit., p. 270. But a volume of such precedents might be 
lited. The eighteenth of the Regulations of 1721 distinctly recognizes the 
prerogative.— See ante p. 71. 

t See ante Landmark 5, p. 21. 



GRAND MASTER. 455 

of the craft in Ms own jurisdiction, and cannot, at 
any meeting of the fraternity for Masonic purposes, 
be .placed, without his consent, in a subordinate 
position. 

3. Concomitant with this prerogative of presid- 
ing in any Lodge, is that of visitation. This is not 
simply the right of visit, which every Master Mason 
in good standing possesses, and of which I have al- 
ready spoken in a preceding part of this work, but 
it is a prerogative of a more important nature, and 
which has received the distinctive appellation of the 
rigid of visitation. It is the right to enter any 
Lodge, to inspect its proceedings, to take a part in 
its business transactions, and to correct its errors.* 
The right is specifically recognized in the Regula- 
tions of 1721, but it is also an inherent prerogative ; 
for the Grand Master i$,virtute officii, the head of 
the whole fraternity, and is not only entitled, but 
bound, in the faithful discharge of his duty, to 
superintend the transactions of the craft, and to in- 
terfere in all congregations of Masons to prevent 
the commission of wrong, and to see that the Land- 
marks and usages of antiquity, and the Constitu- 
tions and laws of the Grand Lodge, and of every 
Lodge in the jurisdiction, are preserved and obeyed. 
The Regulations of 1721 prescribe that when the 
Grand Master makes such a visitation, the Grand 
Wardens are to attend him, and act as Wardens of 
the Lodge while he presides. This Regulation, 
however, rather refers to the rights of the Grand 

* See Regulations of 1721. art. i. 



456 GRAND MASTER. 

Wardens than to the prerogative of the Grand 
Master,.whose right to make an official visitation 
to any Lodge is an inherent one, not to be limited 
or directed by any comparatively modern Regu- 
lation. 

4. The right of appointment is another preroga- 
tive of the Grand Master. By the old usages — for 
I find no written law upon the subject — the Grand 
Master appointed the Deputy Grand Master, who is 
hence always styled " his Deputy." The Regula- 
tions of 1721 also gave him the nomination of the 
Grand Wardens, who were then to be installed, if 
the nomination was unanimously approved by the 
Grand Lodge, but if not, an election was to be held. 
The Grand Secretary, at the first establishment of 
the office in 1723, was elected by the Grand Lodge, 
but all subsequent appointments were made by the 
Grand Master. The Grand Treasurer was, how- 
ever, always an elective office. 

In England, under its present Constitution, the 
Grand Master appoints all the officers of the Grand 
Lodge, except the Grand Treasurer. In America, 
the prerogative of appointment, which was vested 
by ancient usage in the Grand Master, has been 
greatly abridged, and is now restricted to the no- 
mination of some of the subordinate officers of the 
Grand Lodge. The Deputy, the Wardens, the 
Treasurer and Secretary are now elected by the 
Grand Lodge. In view of the fact that none of the 
officers of the Grand Lodge, except the Grand Mas- 
ter, owe their existence to a Landmark, but are al] 



GRAND MASTER. 457 

the creatures of regulations, adopted from time to 
time, and in view, too, of the other important fact 
that regulations on the subject were continually 
changing, so that we find an officer at one time ap- 
pointed, and at another time elected, I am con- 
strained to believe that the right of appointment is 
one of the few prerogatives of the Grand Master, 
which is not inherent in his office, but which is sub- 
ject to the regulation of the Grand Lodge. 

5. The Twelfth Regulation of 1721 gave the 
Grand Master the prerogative of casting two votes 
in all questions before the Grand Lodge. The 
words of the Regulation are, it is true, very explicit, 
and would seem to leave no doubt upon its face ; 
and yet I am scarcely inclined to believe that under 
all circumstances that officer was permitted to vote 
twice, while every other member voted but once. 
Contemporaneous exposition, however, supplies no 
aid in the interpretation of the law ; for I have 
looked in vain through the earlier editions of the 
Book of Constitutions for any farther reference to 
the subject. The modern Grand Lodge of England 
retains the very words of the Old Regulations ; but 
in this country, where it has principally been pre- 
served by usage, it is so interpreted as that the 
Grand Master gives his second vote only in the case 
of a tie, and this, I suspect, was the object of the 
original law. 

6. I come now to one of the most important pre- 
rogatives of a Grand Master, that, namely, of grant- 
ing dispensations. A dispensation may be defined 

20 



458 GRAND MASTER. 

to be " the granting of a license, or the license it- 
self, to do what is forbidden by laws or regulations, 
or to omit something which is commanded : that is, 
the dispensing with a law or regulation, or the ex- 
emption of a particular person from the obligation 
to comply with its injunctions."* This power to 
dispense with the provisions of law in particular 
cases appears to be inherent in the Grand Master, 
because, although frequently referred to in the Old 
Eegulations, it always is as if it were a power al- 
ready in existence, and never by way of a new grant. 
There is no record of any Masonic statute or consti- 
tutional provision conferring this prerogative in 
distinct words. The instances, however, in which 
this prerogative may be exercised are clearly enu- 
merated in various places of the Old Constitutions, 
so that there can be no difficulty in understanding to 
what extent the prerogative extends. 

Thus, one of the Regulations of 1721 prescribes 
that "no Lodge shall make more than five new 
brethren at one time ;"+ but the Grand Master may 

* This is the definition of Webster, except that the word " regulation" 
has been substituted for " canon." Du Cange (Glossarium) defines a dis- 
pensation to be a prudent relaxation of a general law. JProvida juris com- 
munis relaxatio. While showing how much the ancient ecclesiastical 
authorities were opposed to the granting of dispensations, since they prefer- 
red to pardon the offense after the law had been violated, rather than to give 
a previous license for its violation, he adds, " but however much the Roman 
Pontiffs and most pious Bishops felt of reverence for the ancient Regulations, 
they were often compelled to depart in some measure from them, for the 
utility of the church ; and this milder method of acting, the jurists called a 
dispensation." 

f Regulations of 1721, art. iv. 



GRiND MASTER. 459 

grant his dispensation to authorize any Lodge on a 
particular occasion to go beyond this number. 

Again, in another Regulation it is enacted that 
" no man can be made or admitted a member of a 
particular Lodge without previous notice one month 
before ;"* but here the Grand Master may interfere 
with his dispensing power, and permit a candidate 
to be made without such previous notice. 

Another Regulation prescribes that " no set or 
number of brethren shall withdraw or separate 
themselves from the Lodge in which they were made 
brethren, or were afterwards admitted members, 
unless the Lodge becomes too numerous, nor even 
then, without a dispensation."'!' But this Regula- 
tion has long since become obsolete, and Masons 
now demit from their Lodges without the necessity 
of asking a dispensation. In fact, as the law is no 
longer in force, no authority is needed to dispense 
with its injunctions. 

The Twelfth Regulation of 1721 prescribes that 
none but members of the Grand Lodge shall be per- 
mitted to be present at its quarterly communica- 
tions, except by dispensation. The Grand Master 
is thus authorized to set aside the provisions of the 
law for the benefit of a particular individual, and 
this right of the Grand Master to admit strangers 
as visitors in the Grand Lodge is still recognized as 
one of his prerogatives. 

Besides these particular instances of the exercise 
of the dispensing power which are referred to in 

* Regulations of 1721, art. v. f Ibid art viii., ante p. 07. 



460 GRAND MASTER. 

the Old Regulations, there are many others which 
arise from the nature of the prerogative, and which 
Lave been sanctioned by immemorial usage. 

Thus, when a Lodge has neglected to elect its 
officers at the constitutional time of election, or, 
having elected them, has failed to proceed to instal- 
lation, the Grand Master may, on application, issue 
his dispensation, authorizing the election or instal- 
lation to take place at some time subsequent to the 
constitutional period. And without such dispensa- 
tion, no election or installation could take place ; 
but the old officers would have to continue in office 
until the next regular time of election, for no Lodge 
can perform any act at any other time, or in any 
other mode, except that which is provided by 
its by-laws, or the Regulations of the Grand 
Lodge, unless in a particular case a dispensation is 
granted to set aside for the time the provisions of 
the law. 

Again : although no one can serve as Master of a 
Lodge, unless he has previously acted as a Warden, 
yet in particular cases, as in the organization of a 
new Lodge, or when, in an old Lodge, no one who 
has been a Warden is willing to serve as Master, 
the Grand Master may grant his dispensation, em- 
powering the members to elect a Master from the 
floor. 

But as it is a principle of the law that the 
benignity of the Grand Master must not affect the 
rights of third parties, no dispensation can issue 
for the election from the floor, if there be a Warden 



GRAND MASTER. 461 

or Past Warden who is willing to serve ; for eligi- 
oility to the chair is one of the prerogatives which 
arises from having served in the office of Warden, 
and a dispensation cannot set aside a prerogative. 

By the operation of the same equitable principle, 
the Grand Master is prohibited from issuing a dis- 
pensation to authorize the initiation of a person who 
has been rejected by a Lodge ; for it is the inherent 
right of a Lodge to judge of the fitness of its own 
members, and the Grand Master cannot, by the 
exercise of his dispensing power, interfere with this 
inherent right. 

7. Analogous to this dispensing power is the pre- 
rogative which the Grand Master possesses of 
authorizing Masons to congregate together and form 
a Lodge. According to the Regulations of 1721, 
and the modern Constitutions of England, the 
Grand Master has the power to grant warrants for 
the permanent establishment of Lodges, by warrant 
of constitution. But in this country this preroga- 
tive has not, for many years, been exercised by 
Grand Masters, who only grant their authority for 
the holding of Lodges temporarily, until the next 
communication of the Grand Lodge. Hence, as no 
Lodge can be legally held, except under a warrant 
of constitution, granted by a Grand Lodge, when 
the Grand Master permits such an assemblage, he 
suspends for a time the operation of the law ; and 
for this reason the document issued by him for this 
purpose is very appropriately called a dispensation, 
for it is simply a permission or license granted to 



462 GRAND MASTER. 

certain brethren to dispense with the law requiring 
a warrant, and to meet and work masonically with- 
out such an instrument. 

8. Consequent upon and intimately connected 
with this dispensing power is that much contested 
prerogative of the Grand Master to make Masons 
at sight. I know of no principle' of Masonic law 
which has given rise to a greater diversity of 
opinions, or more elaborate argument on both sides, 
than this. While the Grand Lodges or the Com- 
mittees of Foreiga Correspondence of Indiana, Ken- 
tucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New 
York, North and South Carolina, Vermont and 
Wisconsin, clearly admit the prerogative, those of 
California, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri and 
Tennessee, as positively deny it, while Florida and 
Texas recognize its existence only under limited 
modifications. The weight of authority is certainly 
on the side of the prerogative. I think that it can 
readily be proved that ancient usage, as well as 
the natural deductions from the law, equally sup- 
port it. 

It has always appeared to me that much of the 
controversy was, after all, rather a dispute about 
words than about things. The words " making 
Masons at sight" are not to be found in any of the 
Constitutions or records of the legitimate Grand 
Lodge of England. They were first used by that 
schismatic body known in history as the Athol 
Grand Lodge, and are to be found in its authorized 
Book of Constitutions, the " Ahiman Rezon" of 



GRAND MASTER. * Q '* 

Laurence Dermott.* The " moderns," as they were 
called, or the regular body, always spoke of "making 
Masons in an occasional Lodge," and these words 
continually occur in the second edition of the Book 
of Constitutions, published by Dr. Anderson, and in 
all the subsequent editions compiled by other edi- 
tors. Thus Ave find that in 1731, "Grand Master 
Lovel formed an occasional Lodge at Sir Robert 
Walpole's house of Houghton Hall, in Norfolk, and 
made Brother Lorrain and Brother Thomas Pel- 
ham, Duke of Newcastle, Master Masons. "f 

Again, " on the 16th of February, 1766, an occa- 
sional Lodge was held at the Horn Tavern, in New 
Palace Yard, % by the Right Hon. Lord Blaney, 
Grand Master. His Royal Highness William Henry, 
Duke of Gloucester, was in the usual manner intro- 
duced and made an Entered Apprentice, passed a 
Fellow Craft, and raised to the degree of a Master 
Mason."§ 

And again, " on February 9, 1767, an occasional 
Lodge was held at the Thatched House Tavern, in 
St. James Street, by Col. John Salter, Deputy 
Grand Master, as Grand Master, and his Royal 
Highness Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland, 

* The language of Dermott is as follows : " The Right Worshipful Grand 
Master has full power and authority to make (or cause to be made in his 
Worship's presence) Free and Accepted Masons at sight, and such making 
is good." — Dekmott's Ahim. Bez. third edit. 1778, p. 72. 

f Book of Constitutions, secoud edit. p. 129. 

% The regular place of meeting of the Grand Lodge at that time wa. c at 
the Crown-and-Anchor in the Strand. 

§ Book of Constitutions, third edit. p. 313. 



464 GBAND MASTER. 

was, in the usual manner, introduced and made an 
Entered Apprentice, passed a Fellow Craft, and 
raised to the degree of a Master Mason. "* 

Now, in all of these cases the candidates were 
made by the Grand Master, without previous notice, 
and not in a regular Lodge ; and this is what I sup- 
pose to be really meant by making Masons at sight. 
Dermott adopted this phraseology, but Anderson 
and his successors called it " making Masons in an 
occasional Lodge." The two expressions mean ex- 
actly the same thing. 

Now, by way of illustrating this theory, let it be 
supposed that the Grand Master of a certain juris- 
diction is desirous of making a Mason at sight, or in 
an occasional Lodge. How is he to exercise this 
prerogative ? Why, he summons not less than six 
Master Masons to his assistance, himself making the 
seventh, which number is necessary to form a per- 
fect Lodge. They meet together, and he grants his 
dispensation, (which is virtually done by his pres- 
ence) permitting a Lodge to be opened and held. 
The candidate upon whom the Grand Master in- 
tends to exercise his prerogative, applies for initia- 
tion, and the Grand Master having dispensed with 
the Regulation which requires the petition to lie 
over for one month, the Lodge proceeds to confer 
the first and second degrees, the Grand Master 
being in the chair. OnJ;ho following evening, the 

* Book of Constitutions, third edition, p. 319. Sailer was at that time 
exercising the prerogatives of Grand Master, because Lord Blaney was 
out of the jurisdiction, being in Ireland.— See Preston, p. 228. 



GRAND MASTER. 465 

same brethren again meet, and the candidate re- 
ceives the third degree, the Grand Master occupying 
the chair as before. 

The Lodge having accomplished all that was re- 
quired of it, the Grand Master ceases to exercise 
his dispensing power — which he is of course at 
liberty to do, for his dispensation, like the king's 
writ, is granted durante bene placito, during his good 
pleasure — and the Lodge is dissolved. But the 
making of the candidate is good ; nor do I see how 
it can be denied, for certainly if the Grand Master 
can authorize A, B and C to make Masons by dis- 
pensation — and this no one doubts — then surely he 
can exercise the same functions which he has the 
power of delegating to others. 

And this I suppose to be all that is meant by the 
prerogative of the Grand Master to make Masons 
at sight. It is the necessary result of, and indeed 
is the same thing in a modified form, as his prero- 
gative to open Lodges by dispensations granted to 
others. 

But in exercising this important prerogative, the 
Grand Master must be governed by all those prin- 
ciples which would apply to the initiation of candi- 
dates in an ordinary Lodge under dispensation ; 
for although he may dispense with the provisions 
of a Regulation, he cannot dispense with the Land- 
marks. The candidate must be possessed of all the 
requisite qualifications, nor can the Grand Master 
interfere with any Lodge by making a candidate 
who has been rejected ; for he cannot exercise 

20* 



466 GRAND MASTER, 

any of his prerogatives to the injuiy of other 
parties. 

Another important prerogative of the Grand 
Master is that of arresting the charter of a subordi- 
nate Lodge. To arrest the charter, is a technical 
phrase, by which is meant to suspend the work of a 
Lodge — to prevent it from holding its usual com- 
munications, and to forbid it to transact any busi- 
ness, or to do any work. A Grand Master cannot 
revoke the warrant of a Lodge ; for this, as I have 
already shown, is the peculiar prerogative of the 
Grand Lodge. But if, in his opinion, the good of 
Masonry, or any other sufficient cause requires it, lie 
may suspend the operation of the warrant until the 
next communication of the Grand Lodge, which 
body is alone competent to revise or approve of his 
action. But this prerogative of the Grand Master, 
as it deprives a Lodge of its activity and usefulness 
for a period of some duration, and inflicts some por- 
tion of disgrace upon the body which has subjected 
itself to such discipline, should be exercised with 
the utmost caution and reluctance. 

The doctrine of the right of appeal has been so 
fully discussed in a former part of this work, that it 
is scarcely necessary to say more on this subject 
than that it is held to be the settled law of Masonry, 
at this time, that an appeal cannot be taken from 
the decision of the Grand Master to the Grand 
Lodge. The Committee of Foreign Correspondence 
of the Grand Lodge of New York, in 1852, expres- 
sed views on this subject with which I so heartily 



GRAND MASTER. 467 

concur, that I readily borrow their language : " We 
think/' they say, " that no appeal lies from his de- 
cision, because he is, in his official position, required, 
like the Master in his Lodge, to see that the Consti- 
tutions and laws of Masonry are faithfully observed. 
He cannot do this if his opinion or decision may be 
instantly set aside by an appeal to that majority, 
which is about to violate them. In such case also 
he may close the Lodge to prevent the violation ; 
so that calm reason teaches us that there is no other 
just rule in the matter than that of the supremacy 
and inviolability of presiding officers." 

I know that a few Grand Lodges, or rather their 
Committees of Correspondence, have censured views 
like these, and declare them to be investing a Grand 
Master with what they call " the one man power. 77 
It may be so ; and in like manner the undisputed 
power of the Worshipful Master over his Lodge may 
receive a similar designation. And yet it is, in a 
great measure, to this power beyond appeal, to the 
responsibility which it entails, and to the great cau- 
tion which it necessarily begets, that we must attri- 
bute much of the harmony and stability which have 
always characterized the Order. 

Should the Grand Master ever abuse this great 
power, and by unjust or incorrect decisions endan- 
ger the prosperity of the institution, the conserva- 
tive principle of an annual election will afford a 
competent check, and the evil of an oppressive or an 
ignorant presiding officer can readily be cured by 



£68 GRAM) MASTER. 

his displacement at the constitutional period, and in 
the constitutional way. 

The last subject to be discussed in reference to 
the office of Grand Master, is the question of suc- 
cession. In case of the death or absence of the 
Grand Master, who succeeds to his office ? 

There never lias been any doubt that in case of 
the death or absence from the jurisdiction of the 
Grand Master, the Deputy succeeds to the office, for 
this seems to have been the only object of his ap- 
pointment. The only mooted point is as to the suc- 
cessor, in the absence of both. 

The Fourteenth Regulation of 1721 had pre- 
scribed, that if the Grand Master and his Deputy 
should both be absent from the Grand Lodge, the 
functions of Grand Master shall be vested in " the 
present Master of a Lodge that has been the longest 
a Freemason," unless there be a Past Grand Master 
or Past Deputy present. But this was found to be 
an infringement on the prerogatives of the Grand 
Wardens, and accordingly a new Regulation ap- 
peared in the second edition of the Book of Consti- 
tutions, which prescribed that the order of succession 
should be as follows : the Deputy, a Past Grand 
Master, a Past Deputy Grand Master, the Senior, 
and then the Junior Grand Warden, the oldest for- 
mer Grand Warden present, and lastly, the oldest 
Freemason who is the Master of a Lodge. 

But this order of succession does not appear to 
be strictly in accordance with the representative 
character of the Grand Lodge, since Past Grand 



DEPUTY GRAND MUSTEK. 469 

officers, who are not by inherent right members of 
the Grand Lodge, should not be permitted to take 
precedence of the actual members and representa- 
tives. Accordingly, in this country, the Regulation 
has in general been modified, and here the Deputy 
succeeds the Grand Master, and after him the 
Wardens, in order of their rank, and then the Mas- 
ter of the oldest Lodge present, Grand officers being 
entirely excluded. 

The duties and prerogatives to which these offi- 
cers succeed, in case of the absence of the Grand 
Master from any communication, are simply those 
of a presiding officer, although of course they are 
for the time invested with all the rights which are 
exercised by the Grand Master in that capacity. 
But if the Grand Master be within the limits of the 
jurisdiction, although absent from the Grand Lodge, 
all their temporary functions cease as soon as the 
Grand Lodge is closed. 

If, however, the Grand Master is absent from the 
jurisdiction, or has demised, then these officers, in 
the order already stated, succeed to the Grand Mas- 
tership, and exercise all the prerogatives of the 
office until his return, or, in the case of his death, 
until the next communication of the Grand Lodge. 

SECTION II. 

THE DEPUTY GFAXD MASTER. 

The office of Deputy Grand Master is neither so 
important nor so ancient as that of Grand Master, 



470 DEPUTY GRAND MASTER. 

and seems originally to have been established for 
the purpose of relieving the latter officer of much 
of the labor which the proper discharge of his 
duties would demand. Hence, in the first four years 
of the history of the Order, after the reorganization 
of the Grand Lodge, in the beginning of the last 
century . while the chair was occupied by Commoners, 
there was no Deputy ; and it was not until the elec- 
tion of the Duke of Montagu, as Grand Master, in 
1721, that the appointment was made.* The Six- 
teenth of the Regulations, adopted in that year, 
very distinctly shows that the object of the creation 
of the office of Deputy was, that that officer should 
relieve the Grand Master from the inconvenience 
of attending to the details of business. t Nor does 
that officer appear, from anything that we find in 
the old Constitutions, to have exercised or posses- 
sed any other prerogatives than those which he 
claimed in the Grand Master's right, whose assist- 

* December 27, 1720, the Regulation was adopted, that in future the new 
Grand Master shall have the sole power of appointing a Deputy Grand Mas- 
ter, " now proved," says Anderson, " as necessary as formerly, according 
to ancient custom, when noble brothers were Grand Masters." — Book of 
Const, second edit. p. 111. In the historical statement made by Andersgn^ 
I place no confidence, for Prince Edwin had no Deputy ; but; he evidently 
assigns the true reason for the modern appointment, that noblemen might be 
relieved of the burdens of a laborious office. 

f " The Grand Wardens or any others are first to advise with the Deputy 
about the affairs of the Lodge, or of the brethren, and not to apply to the 
Grand Master, without the knowledge of the Deputy, unless he refuse his 
concurrence in any certain necessary affair." — Beg. of 1721, art. xvi. And 
again : " The Grand Master should receive no intimation of business con 
cerning Masonry, but from his Deputy first, except in such cases as his Wor 
ship can well judge of." — Ibid. 



DEPUTY GRAND MASTER. 471 

ant lie was. The usage in this country generally 
still continues to assign to him that subordinate po- 
sition ; and, except in a few jurisdictions, where 
additional powers have been specially granted by 
constitutional enactment, he exercises the preroga- 
tive of presiding over the craft only in the absence 
of the Grand Master from the jurisdiction, while 
during his presence he simply assists him with his 
counsel and advice. 

To this, however, there are exceptions, and the 
Deputy is in some States invested with the preroga- 
tive of establishing Lodges and of granting dispen- 
sations.* Such powers are not derived from either 
the ancient usages or Constitutions, and the Regu- 
lations conferring them must be considered as 
wholly of a local nature : and in so far as they in- 
terfere with the exclusive inherent prerogatives of 
the Grand Master, I cannot but believe them to be 
inexpedient and unconstitutional. By the ancient 
Landmarks of Masonry, the dispensing power could 
be exercised only by the Grand Master, and to con- 
fer it on others is to divest him of his prerogative, 
which it is clearly not in the power of any Grand 
Lodge to do. 

The Provincial Grand Master is an officer known 
only to the English Constitutions. The first ap- 
pointment of one recorded in the Book of Consti- 
tutions is that of Bro. Winter, as Provincial Grand 

* Thus, ia Ohio, he grants dispensations, and in New York, in addition to 
this prerogative, suspends warrants, visits Lodges, and exercises many other 
rights which the Old Constitutions had confined to the Grand Master. 



£72 DEPUTY GRAND MASTER. 

Master of East India, which was made in 1730, by 
the Duke of Norfolk. The modern Constitutions 
of England invest him with powers in his own pro- 
vince very similar to those of the Grand Master, to 
whom, however, or to 'the Grand Lodge, an appeal 
always lies from his decisions. 

In this country the office of District Deputy Grand 
Master appears to have taken the place, in many 
jurisdictions, of the English Provincial Grand Mas- 
ters ; but as the office has been created by a special 
enactment in every case, the Regulations which re- 
fer to it must be considered as strictly local in their 
character. Hence the duties and prerogatives of 
these officers widely differ in different jurisdictions, 
and a consideration of them can find no place in a 
treatise on the general principles of Masonic law. 
Individually, I confess that I am opposed to the 
creation of the office, as infringing on the simplicity 
of the Masonic system of government, although it 
cannot be denied that a Grand Lodge has the right 
to create such an office, so long as the powers con- 
ferred on the officer do not affect the inherent prero- 
gatives of the Grand Master; with which, of course, 
no modern Constitutions can interfere. 

In England, the Deputy Grand Master has always 
been appointed by the Grand Master. The same 
rule has been followed by a few Grand Lodges in 
this country : but the more general custom is foi 
the Grand Lc dge to elect hi n. 



GKAND WARDENS. 473 

SECTION III. 

THE GRAM) WARDENS. 

Next in dignity to the Deputy come the Senior 
and Junior Grand Wardens. These two officers 
are, however, although subordinate in rank, of 
much more importance than the Deputy, in the 
working of the Order, and are possessed of some 
prerogatives which do not belong to him. Their 
duties do not very materially differ from those of 
the corresponding officers in a subordinate Lodge ; 
although of course, from their more exalted posi- 
tion, their powers are more extensive. 

In this country, by universal consent, the Ward- 
ens succeed to the government of the craft in order 
of rank, upon the death or absence from the juris- 
diction of the Grand and Deputy Grand Masters. 
But the subject of the succession to the chair has 
already been considered in a preceding section. 

The first of the Regulations of 1721 had pre- 
scribed that the Grand Master, in his official visita- 
tion to a subordinate Lodge, " might command the 
Wardens of that Lodge, or any other Master 
Masons, to act there as his Wardens, pro tempore;" 
but as this was found to be an interference with the 
rights of the Grand Wardens, the Regulation was 
soon after explained as only being applicable to 
cases where they were absent ; for it was declared 
that the Grand Master cannot deprive them of their 
office without showing cause, so that if they are 



474 GRAND WARDENS. 

present in a particular Lodge with the Grand Mas- 
ter, they must, if he presides, act as Wardens. And 
accordingly, this has ever since been considered as 
one of their prerogatives. 

As in a subordinate Lodge, so in the Grand Lodge, 
the Junior Grand Warden does not occupy the west 
in the absence of the Senior Grand Warden. The 
two offices are entirely distinct ; and the Junior 
Grand Warden having been elected and installed 
to preside in the south, can leave that station only 
for the east, in the absence of all his superiors. 
A vacancy in the west must be supplied by tempo- 
rary appointment. 

On the same principle, the Senior Grand Warden 
cannot supply the place of the absent Deputy Grand 
Master. In fact, in the absence from the Grand 
Lodge of the Deputy, it is scarcely necessary that 
his office should be filled by the temporary appoint- 
ment of any person; for, in the presence of the 
Grand Master, the Deputy has no duties to perform. 

The old Charges of 1722 required that no one 
could be a Grand Warden until he had been the 
Master of a Lodge.* The rule still continues in 
force, either by the specific regulation of modern 
Grand Lodges, or by the force of usage, which is 
the best interpreter of law. 

By the Regulations of 1721, the Grand Master 

* The Sixteenth Regulation of 1721 prohibited a Grand Warden from act- 
ing as the Master of a Lodge ; but this rule seems now to be obsolete, al- 
though I have no doubt tlaa the dignity of the office would be consulted b^ 
its enforcement. 



GRAND TREASURER. 475 

possessed the power of nominating the Grand 
Wardens ; but if his nomination was not unani- 
mously approved, the Grand Lodge proceeded to an 
election, so that really the choice of these officers 
was vested in the Grand Lodge. By the universal 
usage of the present day, the power of nomination 
is not exercised by Grand Masters, and the Grand 
Wardens are always elected. 

SECTION IT. 

THE GRAXD TREASURER. 

The office of Grand Treasurer was provided for 
in the Regulations approved in 1722, and it was 
then prescribed that he should be " a brother of 
good worldly substance, who should be a member 
of the Grand Lodge, by virtue of his office, and 
should be always present, and have power to move 
to the Grand Lodge anything, especially what con- 
cerns his office. "* Again, in 1724, on the organiza- 
tion of the Committee of Charity of the Grand 
Lodge, it was enacted that a Treasurer should be 
appointed, in whose hands the amounts collected 
might be deposited. But it was not until the year 
1727 that the office was really filled by the selection 
of Nathaniel Blakerby.t Even then, however, the 
office does not appear to have been considered by 
the Grand Lodge as a distinct appointment, but 
rather as one which any responsible brother might 

* Andfrson, first edit. p. 62. -Beg. of 1721, art. xiii. 
t Ibid, second edit. p. 179. 



476 GRAND TREASURER. 

fill, in addition to his other duties ; for the Treasu- 
rer, Blakerby, was in the next year appointed Deputy 
Grand Master, and discharged the functions of both 
offices at the same time ;* and when he resigned the 
office, the appointment was given to the Grand- 
Secretary, who, during Blakerby 7 s administration; 
had sometimes performed his duties ; but at length, 
in 1738, Bro. Revis, the Grand Secretary, declined 
the office, very properly assigning as a reason " that 
both those offices should not be reposed in one man, 
the one being a check to the other."t So that it 
was not until the year 1739 that, by the appoint- 
ment of Bro. John Jesse,J as Grand Treasurer, the 
office assumed a distinct and separate position among 
the offices of the Grand Lodge, which it has ever 
since retained. 

The Thirteenth Regulation of 1721 had certainly, 
by a just construction of its language, made the 
office of Grand Treasurer an elective one by the 
Grand Lodge •§ but notwithstanding this, both 
Blakerby and Jesse were appointed by the Grand 
Master, the latter, however, at the unanimous re- 
quest of the Grand Lodge. But ever since, the 
office of Grand Treasurer has been made an elec- 
tive one. || 

* Thus : " At the Grand Lodge, in due form, on 27th Dec, 1729, D. G. M. 
Blakerby, therTreasurer, in the chair, had the honor to thank many officers 
of Lodges for bringing their liberal charity." — Ander., second edit. p. 179-. 

f Ibid, p. 184. t Book of Const, third edit. p. 226. 

§ " They [the Grand Lodge] shall also appoint a Treasurer." — Reg. 1721 
art. xiii. 

|j Revis was appointed by both the Grand Mast.r and the Grand Lodge 



GRAND SECRETARY. 477 

The functions of the Grand Treasurer do not 
differ from those of the corresponding officer in a 
subordinate Lodge. It is his duty to act as the de- 
positary of all the funds and property of the Grand 
Lodge, to keep a fair account of the same, and 
render a statement of the condition of all the pro- 
perty in his possession, whenever called upon by 
either the Grand Master or the Grand Lodge. He 
also pays all bills and orders which have been ap- 
proved by the Grand Lodge. He is, in one word, 
under such regulations as that body shall prescribe, 
the banker of that body.* 

The old Regulations permitted him to appoint an 
assistant, whose only qualification was, that he must 
be a Master Mason. But such assistant did not, by 
his appointment, become a member of the Grand 
Lodge, although permitted toije present at its com- 
munications. The usage has been continued in 
many of the Grand Lodges of this country. 

SECTION V. 

THE GRAND SECRETARY. 

The Regulations of 1721 had described the duties 
to be performed by the Grand Secretary ;f but from 

perhaps by the appointment of the one, and. with the consent and approba- 
tion of the other. — Ander., second edit. p. 138. 

* His duties are very fully defined in the Regulations of 1721, art. xiil, 
see ante p. 70. 

t " There shall be a book kept by the Grand Master, or his Deputy, or 
rather by some brother whom the Grand Ledge shall appoint fcr Secretary.*' 
—Iteq. 1721, art. xiii. 



47 8 GRAND SECRETARY. 

the o realization of the Grand Lodge in 1717. to the 
year 1723, no such officer had been appointed. In 
the hast mentioned year, however, Bro. William 
Cowper was chosen by the Grand Lodge. The 
office was therefore first an elective one, but Ander- 
son, in his edition of 1738, says that "ever since, 
the new Grand Master, upon his commencement, ap- 
points the Secretary, or continues him by returning 
him the books."* This usage is still pursued by the 
modern Grand Lodge of England ; but in every 
jurisdiction of this country, the office of Grand 
Secretary is an elective one. 

The functions, the discharge of which is intrusted 
to the Grand Secretary, are of the most important 
nature, and require no ordinary amount of talent. 
It is his duty to record all the proceedings of the 
Grand Lodge with the utmost fidelity and exactness. 
He is also the official organ of the Grand Lodge, 
and in that capacity conducts its correspondence. 
He is, besides, the recipient of the returns ar.d dues 
of Lodges, which amounts he pays over to the Grand 
Treasurer, so that each of these officers acts as a 
check upon the other. 

The Grand Secretary is also in this country the 
keeper of the seal of the Grand Lodge, which he 
affixes to all documents that require it. His signa- 
ture is considered as essential to the validity of any 
document which emanates from the Grand Lodge. f 

* Andehson, second edit. p. 161. 

t The duties which in other countries are divided among several officers. 
are in America concentrated in the GrawJ Secretary, who i$ henoe a much 



GEAND CHAPLAIN. 479 

Like the Grand Treasurer, lie was permitted by 
the old Regulations to appoint an assistant, who did 
not, however, by such appointment, become a mem- 
ber of the Grand Lodge. The Regulation is still 
in force in several of the American jurisdictions. 



SECTION VI. 

THE GRAND CHAPLAIN . 

This is an office of very modern date. No al- 
lusion to such an officer is to be found in any of the 
old Constitutions, and Preston informs us that it 
was instituted on the 1st of May, 1775, on the oc- 
casion of the laying of the corner stone of the Free- 
masons' Hall in London.* A sense of propriety 
has, however, notwithstanding its want of antiquity, 
since caused this office to be universally recognized 
by the Grand Lodges of this country, some of whom 
have increased the number of Grand Chaplains from 
one to several. 

The duties of the Grand Chaplain are confined to 
offering up prayer at the communications of the 
Grand Lodge, and conducting its devotional exer- 
cises on public occasions. 

He is, by virtue of his office, a member of the 
Grand Lodge, and entitled to a seat and a vote. 
The only qualifications generally required appear to 

more important officer than he is in Europe. Thus, by the modern Constitu. 
tions of England the Grand Registrar superintends the records, and is the 
custodian of the seal. 
* Preston, p. 237, Oliver's edit. 



480 GRAND LECTURER. 

be that lie should be a Master Mason, in good stand- 
ing in his Lodge, and a recognized clergyman of 
some religious denomination. 



SECTION VII. 

THE GRAND LECTURER. 

The office of Grand Lecturer is one of great im- 
portance ; perhaps there is none so important in the 
whole series of offices which constitute the control- 
ling element of a Grand Lodge. He is the recog- 
nized teacher of the Masonic system, and it is 
by his faithful instructions alone that unity can 
be maintained in the methods of communicating 
our ritual. 

" This unity," says a distinguished Mason, Bro. 
Sandford, of Iowa, " makes the world a Mason's 
home, and raising him high above geographical di- 
visions and the obstacles of language and religion, 
secures him protection and repose wherever fate or 
fortune may direct his steps. Without it, our grand 
fabric of universal benevolence, which has withstood 
the storms of numerous centuries, would be shat- 
tered to atoms in a single age." 

I presume that it will be admitted by every intel- 
ligent Mason, that Bro. Sandford has not placed too 
high an estimate on the importance of a uniformity 
of work. If Masonry contain within itself anything 
worthy of the study of intellectual men — if our 
theories of its antiquity be not fallacious — if our 
legends and ceremonies and symbols are not, as one 



GRAND LECTURER. 481 

class of our opponents have declared them to be, the 
puerile amusements of a past age of dreamers — then 
surely it is the bounden duty of the supreme head 
of the Order, in every jurisdiction, to preserve those 
legends and ceremonies and symbols as pure and 
unsullied by error and innovation as they were when 
received. It is a part of the covenant into which 
we have all entered, and to which we are all bound 
by the most solemn obligations, to preserve the 
ancient Landmarks which have been intrusted to 
our care, and never to suffer them to be infringed, 
or to countenance a deviation from the established 
usages and customs of the fraternity. 

This, it appears to me, is the most prominent and 
especial duty of a Grand Lodge. It is the conser- 
vator of the Order in its own jurisdiction, and is 
expected by all the sanctions of justice and reason 
to hand down to its successors the rites and cere- 
monies of the institution, as it received them from 
its predecessors. Unless it does this, it is recreant 
to its trust. It may dispense charity — it may endow 
colleges — it may decide disputes — it may invent 
financial systems, or legislate for general purposes — 
but unless it shall take constant and careful precau- 
tions for preserving the ancient Landmarks, and 
disseminating among the craft a uniformity of work 
and lectures, according to the true system, it will be 
neglecting the principal design of its organization, 
and will become a "cruel" instead of a "gentle 
mother" to its children. Under an administration 
which shall totally abandon all supervision of the 

21 



482 GRAND LECTURER. 

ritual, and devise no means of teaching it, the very 
identity of Masonry would soon altogether be ex- 
tinguished, and Lodges would speedily degenerate 
into social clubs. 

Now, the only method by which this ritual can 
be efficiently supervised and taught, so that a uni- 
formity of work may be preserved, and every Mason 
in the jurisdiction be made acquainted with the true 
nature of the science of Masonry, is by the ap- 
pointment of a competent and permanent Grand 
Lecturer. 

The appointment of this officer should be a per- 
manent one. In this advanced age of Masonic im- 
provement, any attempt to appoint a Grand Lecturer 
by the year, as we hire domestics, or employ labor- 
ers, is an insult to the intelligence of the Order. 
When an able teacher is found, he should hold his 
office, not for a year, or during the pleasure of the 
Grand Master or the Grand Lodge, but like the 
judicial tenure of our Supreme Court, or the Eng- 
lish Judges — dura se bene gesserit — during good be- 
havior. Let him continue for life, if he is " worthy 
and well qualified ;" for, the longer a good teacher 
labors in his vocation, the better will he discharge 
its duties. But any attempt to intrust the duty of 
instructing Lodges to a temporary Lecturer, changed, 
like the Wardens or the Deacons, every year, must 
inevitably result in the utter destruction of all that 
remains to us of the ancient symmetry of our beauti- 
ful temple. 

Equally injurious is it to divide a i>rMict?rm 



GEAXD LECTUEEB. 483 

between several Lecturers, each independent of the 
oilier*, each teaching a different system, and all 
pi'Hmps ignorant of the true one. To suppose that 
by the simple appointment of the presiding officer, 
some half a dozen District Deputies or Inspectors 
can be qualified to instruct the Lodges placed under 
their control in the arcana of Masonry, would be 
farcical, were it not so pregnant with clanger to the 
safety and preservation of our Landmarks. The 
attempt has been made in one or two jurisdictions, 
and most signally failed. Its necessary consequence 
is a destruction of all uniformity, and a degradation 
of Masonic science to a mere system of quackery. 

But not only should the authority of the Grand 
Lecturer as a Masonic teacher be sovereign and un- 
divided in his jurisdiction, and the tenure of his 
office permanent, so that the craft may not be an- 
nually subjected to changes in the form and sub- 
stance of the instruction that they receive, but, 
above all, he should be fully competent, by previous 
study, to discharge the duties of his high calling. 

No man can be qualified as a Grand Lecturer un- 
less he has devoted his time, his talent, and his 
labor to the arduous, though pleasant, task of Ma- 
sonic study. The old Eomans had a proverb that a 
Mercury could not be made out of any kind of wood, 
and neither can a Grand Lecturer be manufactured 
out of any kind of Mason. A Masonic teacher re- 
quires qualifications of the highest character. A 
profound knowledge of the ritual is. of course, essen- 
tial ; and this alone is to be acquired only after the 



484 GRAND LECTURER 

most laborious study, aided by the adventitious as- 
sistance of an excellent a/nd retentive memory. But 
to this must be added, if we would give dignity to 
the office, or confer a benefit on the pupils whom he 
is to teach, an education dbove the common stand- 
ard, a cultivated intellect, an acquaintance with that 
ancient language from whose records our system is 
derived, a familiarity with history and antiquities, 
and an extent of reading and power of mind which 
will enable him to trace the symbolism of our Order 
through all its progress, from the ancient priest- 
hood of Egypt, the mysteries of Greece and Asia, 
and the kabhaia of Palestine. 

It may be said that the standard is here placed 
too high, and that few will be found to reach it. 
Better, then, would it be to do without a Lecturer 
than to have an incompetent one ; and I know of 
no less amount of learning that would make a Ma- 
sonic teacher, such as a Masonic teacher should be. 
But moreover, by placing the standard of qualifica- 
tions high, intellectual men would be found to work 
up to it ; while, by placing it lower, ignorant men 
would readily avail themselves of the privileges 
that so low a standard would present. The " con- 
summation devoutly to be wished' 7 in Masonry is, 
that none but learned men should become Masonic 
teachers. 

The old Constitutions do not recognize the office 
of Grand Lecturer under that name; but it has al- 
ways existed, and its duties were performed in the 
eighteenth century by some of the most learned men 



GRAND DEACONS. 485 

of the order. Anderson, Desaguliers, Martin Clare, 
Hutchinson and Preston, were all, in the strict sense 
of the word, Grand Lecturers, and discharged the 
duties of the office with great benefit to the craft. 



SECTION VIE. 

THE GRAND DEACONS. 

The office of Grand Deacon is of more modern 
origin than that of any other officer in the Grand 
Lodge. I can find no reference to it in any of the 
old Regulations, in Anderson, or any subsequent 
edition of the Book of Constitutions, in Preston's 
Illustrations, or in Lawrie's History. By the Regu- 
lations of 1721, the duties of the Grand Deacons 
seem to have been divided between the Grand 
Wardens and the Stewards ; nor is a place appropri- 
ated in any of the processions described in the vari- 
ous works already cited. They are first found in a 
procession which took place in 1831, recorded by 
Oliver, in his Continuation of Preston's History. 
But they have since been placed among the officers 
of the Grand Lodge in the Constitutions of England, 
Scotland and Ireland. 

In America, the office has an older date ; for 
Grand Deacons are recorded as being present in a 
procession of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, in 
1783, the account of which is to be found in Smith's 
" Ahiman Rezon." They are also mentioned among 
the officers of the Grand Lodge in the Constitution 



486 ' GRAND MARSHAL. 

adopted in 1797 by the Grand Lodge of North 
Carolina. I know not whence the anomaly arose 
of these officers existing in Grand Lodges of America 
in the eighteenth century, while they are not to be 
found in those of Great Britain until late in the 
nineteenth. They could scarcely have been derived 
from the Athol Grand Lodge, since the York Masons 
of South Carolina had no such officers in 1807, when 
Dalcho published the first edition of his " Ahiman 
Rezon."* Be this as it may, the office is now recog- 
nized in all the Grand Lodges of this country. t 

The Grand Deacons are generally two in number, 
a Senior, who is usually appointed by the Grand 
Master, and a Junior, who receives his appointment 
from the Senior Grand Warden. It is their pro- 
vince to attend upon the Grand Master and Ward- 
ens, and to act as their proxies in the active duties 
of the Grand Lodge. Their duties differ but little 
from those of the corresponding officers in a subor- 
dinate Lodge. 



SECTION IX. 

THE GRAND MARSHAL. 

The first allusion that I find to this office is in 
the second edition of the Book of Constitutions, 
where, under the date of 1730, a procession is de- 
scribed, which was closed by " Marshal Pyne, with 

* See Dalcho's Ahiman Rezon, first edition, Charleston, 1807. 
f- It must be remarked that the office of Deacon in a subordinate Lodge 
is of a much older date than corresponding officers in a Grand Lodge. 



GRAND PURSUIVANT. 487 

his truncheon blew, tipt with gold," But as through- 
out the remainder of the book, and all the subse- 
quent editions, the allusion is not repeated, I am 
led to suppose that this was simply a temporal ap- 
pointment of an officer to keep order, without any 
reference to Masonic rank. There is no such offi- 
cer in the present Grand Lodge of England, and 
the office is unknown in several of the American 
jurisdictions. 

The duty of the Grand Marshal in those Grand 
Lodges which recognize the office, is simply to ar- 
range the processions of the Grand Lodge, and to 
preserve order, according to the forms prescribed.* 



SECTION X. 

THE GRAND PURSUIVANT- 

In the science of heraldry, a Pursuivant is the 
lowest order of officers at arms, and is, as the title 
implics,t an attendant on the heralds. The office is 
unknown to the English Constitutions of Masonry, 
either ancient or modern, and appears to be peculiar 
to this country, where it is to be found in a large 
number of Grand Lodges, whose Regulations are, 
however, generally silent as to the nature of the 
functions to be discharged. 

* In those Grand Lodges which have no Grand Marshal, the duties of the 
i'ftlce should be performed by the Grand Pursuivant. 

f From the French poursuivant, literally one who follows, or aa 
attendant 



488 GRAND SWORD BEARER. 

The " Ahiman Kezon" of South Carolina says that 
his station is near the door, whence he receives all 
reports from the Grand Tiler, and announces the 
name and Masonic rank of all who desire admission, 
seeing that none enter without their appropriate 
decorations.* He combines therefore, in part, the 
duties of the Junior Deacon with those of a gentle- 
man usher. 

I have already said that the office is modern, as 
no allusion to it is to "be found in any of the old 
Regulations. The appointment is generally vested 
in the Grand Master. 



SECTION XI. 

THE GRAND SWORD BEARER 

In 1731, the Duke of Norfolk, being then Grand 
Master, presented to the Grand Lodge of England 
" the old trusty sword of Gustavus Adolphus, King 
of Sweden, that was worn next by his successor in 
war, the brave Bernard, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, with 
both their names on the blade, which the Grand 
Master had ordered Brother George Moody (the 
King's sword cutler) to adorn richly with the arms 
of Norfolk in silver on the scabbard, in order to be 
the Grand Master's sword of state in future. ;J * At 

* Ahim. Rez. So. Ca., p. 129, third edit. 1852. 

f Anderson, second edit. p. 127. Previous to this donation the Grand 
Lodge had no sword of state, but used one belonging to a private Lodge. It 
was borne before the Grand Master by the Master of the Lodge to which it 
belonged, as appears from the account of the procession in 1720, as given b? 
Anderson, p. 126, second edit. 



GRAND STEWARDS. 489 

the following feast, Bro. Moody was appointed 
Sword Bearer, and the office has ever since existed, 
and is to be found in almost all the Grand Lodges 
of this country. 

The Grand Sword Bearer should be appointed by 
the Grand Master, and it is his duty to carry the 
sword of state immediately in front of that officer 
in all processions of the Grand Lodge.* 



SECTION xn. 

THE GRAND STEWARDS. 

The history of the origin of the office of Grand 
Steward is very fully developed in the various edi- 
tions of the Book "of Constitutions, and especially in 
the fourth, or that published in the year 1769. 
Formerly it was the custom of the Grand Wardens 
to make the necessary arrangements for regulating 
and conducting the Annual Grand Feast. But to 
relieve these officers from this extraordinary trouble, 
it was ordered in 1721 that they should " take some 
Stewards to their assistance."' No Stewards were 
appointed, however, until 1728, when the office was 
conferred on six brethren, w r ho performed the duty 
of managing the Feast with such satisfaction to the 
Grand Lodge as to receive the thanks of the Grand 
Master. Six others were appointed in the follow- 
ing year, after which we find that no more were 

* In tho.se Grand Lodges which have a Grand Pursuivant, but no Sword 
Bearer, the sword should be borne by the former officer. 

21* 



490 GRAND STEWARDS. 

nominated until 1728. The appointments appear to 
have been at first made especially for the Annual 
Feast, and at the meeting of the Grand Lodge pre- 
vious to it, so that as yet they could scarcely be 
considered as having taken the rank of permanent 
Grand Officers. But in 1728, it was resolved that 
the office should be revived, (which perhaps rather 
meant that it should be placed upon a permanent 
footing,) and that the number should be increased to 
twelve. In 1731, the Grand Stewards, who had 
been previously appointed by the Grand Master, 
were permitted to nominate their successors, and 
finally, in 1735, the Past Grand Stewards were, on 
petition, constituted into a Master's Lodge, to be 
called the " Stewards' Lodge," and to be placed as 
such on the registry of the Grand Lodge. This 
Lodge was also permitted to send a deputation to 
the Grand Lodge, consisting of its Master, Ward- 
ens, and nine members, each of whom was entitled 
to a vote. But the Stewards of the current year 
were not allowed to vote, or even to speak in the 
Grand Lodge, unless desired. The modern Consti- 
tutions of the Grand Lodge of England have in- 
creased the number of Stewards to eighteen, and 
continued the Grand Stewards' Lodge, which is, 
however, now represented only by its Master, 
Wardens and Past Masters. It has no power of 
making, passing or raising Masons, and is not en- 
titled to a number, although it takes precedency of 
all the other Lodges. 

All of this has been greatly simplified in this 



GEANB TILEE. 491 

country ; and the Grand Stewards, who seldom ex- 
ceed two in number, are generally appointed by the 
Junior Grand Warden. They are possessed of no 
peculiar privileges. Formerly there was in New 
York, and still is in Maryland, a Grand Stewards' 
Lodge, which acts as a committee on the Masonic 
Hall, on the by-laws of Lodges, and on certain other 
matters referred to it. It consists of the Grand 
Officers and Past Masters from the Lodges in Balti- 
more, and meets during the recess of the Grand 
Lodge. I know of no other state in which such an 
organization exists. 

The duty of the Grand Stewards is to attend 
upon the tables during the hours of refreshment, 
and to assist the Junior Grand Warden in managing 
the Grand Feast, in iurisdictions where this ancient 
usage is observed. 



SECTION XIII. 

THE GRAND TILER. 

This is an office which derives its existence from 
the Landmarks of the Order, and must therefore 
have existed from the earliest times, as it is impos- 
sible that any Grand Lodge or Assembly of Masons 
could ever have met for purposes of Masonic busi- 
ness unless the room in which they were assembled 
had been duly tiled. 

The duties of the office are so evident to every 
Mason as to need no explanation. 

The Grand Tiler cannot, during his term of office. 



492 COMMITTEE OP 

be a member of the Grand Lodge, for his official po- 
sition places it out of his power to assist in its 
deliberations. 

He is generally appointed by the Grand Master 
and no other qualification is required for the ofiic 
than that of being a worthy Master Mason. 



SECTION XIY. 

THE COMMITTEE OF FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE. 

Committees of Foreign Correspondence are bodies 
known only to American Masonry ; and until within 
a few years, so far as the efficient discharge of any 
duty was concerned, they appear to have been of 
but little value. But at the present time they oc- 
cupy so important a position in the working of 
every Grand Lodge, that they are fully entitled to 
a place as an essential part of the Masonic system. 

The duties of a Committee of Foreign Corres- 
pondence are at this day the most important that 
are confided to any committee of a Grand Lodge ; 
and what they precisely are, and how they should 
be performed, are matters worthy of a calm and 
deliberate consideration. 

The Committee of the Grand Lodge of Oregon 
has lately objected to the usual free and independ- 
ent course pursued by these bodies, because they 
believe, to use their own language, that " to review, 
overrule and reverse the decisions of Grand Mas- 
ters, in cases regularly before them, and to intimate 
doubts of the wisdom, propriety and regularity of 



FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE. 493 

the decisions of Grand Lodges, upon questions care- 
fully considered and solemnly adjudged, we cannot 
persuade ourselves is the course best calculated to 
promote harmony, facilitate the interchange of kind 
ohices, and cement the bond of union and fraternal 
intercourse which should everywhere exist among 
Grand Lodges. 7 '* 

I cannot concur in this view of the result of the 
labors of such a committee, nor deny to it the 
liberty to discharge, in the most unlimited manner, 
while courtesy is preserved, the duty of reviewers, 
and, if need be, of censurers. 

The Committees on Correspondence are the links 
which bind the Grand Lodges into one united whole 
in the pursuit of knowledge ; they are the guardians 
appointed by their respective bodies to inform their 
constituents what has been the progress of the in- 
stitution for the past year — to warn them of the 
errors in discipline or in Masonic science which 
they may suppose to have been committed — and to 
suggest the best method by which these errors may 
be* avoided or amended. The proceedings of Grand 
Lodges are never printed for purposes of sale, or 
of general distribution ; the number of copies pub- 
lished is always small ; and it is physically impos- 
sible that a knowledge of their contents can ever 
reach the mass of the fraternity, except through the 
condensed reports of foreign correspondence. These 
committees, therefore, perform but the duty to which 
they were appointed, when they report the doingg 

* Proc. Grand Lodge of Oregon, 1855. Rep. of Com. of For. Corresp. 



494 COMMITTEE OP 

and sayings of oilier jurisdictions ; nor can they be 
denied the common right of expressing their opin- 
ions on the nature and tendency of the facts as they 
relate them. Grand Masters are not infallible, and 
Grand Lodges are not always correct in their de- 
cisions. If, therefore, a Committee on Correspond- 
ence should simply detail the various acts and 
opinions of all the Grand Bodies with which their 
own is in correspondence, nor make one depreca- 
tory remark, calling attention to what they might 
suppose violations of laws or Landmarks, the hete- 
rogeneous and discordant doctrines which every 
year are presented to the Masonic world, would be 
placed before the fraternity without commentary, 
leaving the most ignorant to form their own, often 
erroneous, conclusions, and sometimes to confound 
the mere extract from a foreign opinion by the 
committee with an endorsement by that committee 
of its correctness. It is then a part of the duty of a 
Committee on Correspondence to review the pro- 
ceedings of other jurisdictions, to point out what 
they suppose to be errors, and to warn their own 
constituency against adopting them. The Commit- 
tees are, no doubt, like the bodies they are review- 
ing, sometimes wrong • but if the discussion of 
Masonic points of law are conducted temperately, 
calmly, judiciously, and above all fraternally, much 
good must arise from this contest of mind. As the 
collision of the flint and steel will generate fire, so 
truth must be elicited from the collision of varying 
intellects, I cannot hesitate to believe that for 



FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE. 495 

much of the elevated standard that the Masonry 
of this day and country has assumed, and for the 
general diffusion of knowledge on the subject of 
Masonic jurisprudence, the craft are indebted to the 
well-conducted discussions of our various Commit- 
tees on Foreign Correspondence."" 

Conflicting views have also been expressed on the 
subject of the value which is to be attached to these 
reports of Committees of Foreign Correspondence, 
and on the question whether they require to be 
adopted by a foinnal vote of the Grand Lodge to 
whom they are presented, or whether they are, with- 
out such vote, to be placed before the craft as mat- 
ters of Masonic literature, with just so much value 
as their own merits, and the experience, judgment 
and talent of their authors bestow upon them. 

These reports are generally intrusted to the 
ablest writer and thinker in each Grand Lodge ; 
and when this is the case, I cannot see what addi- 
tional value the opinions of such a man can receive 

* Bro. Sandford himself, an admirable illustration of the efficiency and 
usefulness of these committees, indorses the views I have expressed in the 
text. " An examination," says that able Mason, " of the reports which have 
emanated from the Committees on Foreign Correspondence of the various 
Grand Lodges during the past year, has disclosed an amount of labor, a de- 
gree of interest and enthusiasm, an extent and depth of research upon mat- 
ters immediately pertaining to the principles and science of Masonry, which 
is well calculated to excite surprise and admiration. And when to this is . 
added the literary excellence of these various productions, embracing in 
their range of discussion numerous illustrations from the historical and clas- 
sical literature of the world, one is struck with the force of kindred associa- 
tion, which appears to heighten the power and beauty of expression, in pro- 
portion to the dignity and expansiveness of the ideas which call it forth."— 
Proceed. G. L. of Iowa, 1855. 



496 COMMUTES OF FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE. 

from their adoption by a formal vote. Such adop- 
tion would indeed give to his views the force of 
law in that particular jurisdiction, but they would 
not make them sounder or more truthful, nor on the 
other hand would their rejection affect or impair, in 
the slightest degree, their influence, as matters of 
opinion, on the minds of the fraternity. 

The truth is, that these reports derive all their 
value from the character and abilities of their 
authors. They need no adoption by a Grand Lodge, 
"but should be simply received as information, unless 
they are accompanied by resolutions upon which 
specific legislative action is required.* 

* These views are in accordance with those espiessed in 1855 by the 
Committee of the Grand Lodge of California. 



BOOK VI 



MASONIC 

(JriiiiFS an& yumsljrarafs. 



Having, in tlie pre :eding Books, considered the Masonic 
organization in all its different aspects, as presented in the 
Candidate, the Mason, the Lodge and the Grand Lodge, it 
only remains that I should proceed to investigate the nature 
of the offences that may be committed against the institution, 
the punishments which should be inflicted for the correction 
of these offences, and the manner in which these punicliments 
are to be adjudged and executed. 



CHAPTER I. 
J^lasontc Crimes, 

It is peculiar to the subject which is now about 
to be treated, that the division of wrongs made by 
the writers on municipal law, into private wrongs, 
or civil injuries, and public wrongs, or crimes and 
misdemeanors, is not admissible in, or applicable to, 
the system of Masonic jurisprudence. In Masonry, 
every offence is a crime, because, in every violation 
of a Masonic law, there is not only sometimes an 
infringement of the rights of an individual, but 
always, superinduced upon this, " a breach and vio- 
lation of public rights and duties, which affect the 
whole community [of the Order], considered as a 
community," and this is the very definition of a 
crime, as given by Sir William Blackstone.* 

When a Mason transgresses one of the laws of 
his country, he commits a wrong which, according 
to its enormity and the effect which it has on private 
or public rights, will, in the language of the muni' 
cipal law, be denominated an injury, a misdemeanor, 
or a crime, and he will, in a well ordered state, re 

* Blacxstone, B. III. chap. i. 



500 MASONIC CRIMES. 

ceive the punishment which is due to the character 
of the offence that he has committed. If the injury 
be simply one committed against an individual, the 
court will look only to the amount of injury done 
to the individual, and will require no compensation 
for wrong done to the state. 

But although the tribunals of the country may 
have inflicted adequate punishment, so far as the 
offended law of the state is concerned, a Mason is 
still liable to further punishment from the Order, 
of which he is a member. And this punishment will 
be determined, not simply by the amount of injury 
done to the individual, but also on the principle 
that some wrong has likewise been done to the 
Order ; for it is a settled axiom of Masonic law, 
that every offence which a Mason commits is an in- 
jury to the whole fraternity, if in nothing else, at 
least in this, that the bad conduct of a single mem- 
ber reflects discredit on the whole institution. And 
this idea appears to have been early entertained, 
for we find one of the articles of the old Gothic 
Constitutions declaring that a Mason shall harbor 
no thief or thief s retainer, lest the croft should come 
to shame. And again, in the same document, the 
Master is directed to guard his Apprentice against 
the commission of perjury, and all other offences, 
by which the craft may he brought to shame. The 
shame, therefore, that is brought upon the institu- 
tion by the misdeeds of its members, is an impor- 
tant element to be considered in the consideration 
of every Masonic offence. And hence too, in view 



MASONIC CEIMES. 501 

of the public injury that every Mason inflicts upon 
the Masonic community, when he transgresses the 
municipal law, we arrive at the principle that all 
penal offences are crimes in Masonry : That is to 
say, that all private wrongs to an individual are 
public wrongs to the Order. 

There is, however, a division of Masonic offences 
which is well worthy of notice ; for, as the civil 
law made a distinction between the juris prcecepta, 
or precepts of the law, which were without any 
temporal punishment, and the juris regular, or rules 
of law, which were accompanied with a penalty, so 
the laws of Masonry may be divided into directive 
precepts and penal regulations, the former being ac- 
companied with no specified punishment, and the 
latter always containing a penal sanction. Of the 
latter, no example need be at present adduced ; but 
of the former, we will find a well known instance 
in the old Charges approved in 1722, where it is said 
that every Mason ought to belong to a Lodge, while 
no penalty is affixed for a violation of the precept. 

The directive precepts of the Order are to be 
found partly in the old Constitutions and partly in 
the ritual, where they are constantly occurring as 
indications of what should be done or omitted to 
form the character of a true and trusty Mason. As 
they constitute rather the ethics than the law of 
Masonry, they can be considered in the present 
work only incidentally, and so far as, in particular 
cases, they are connected with, or as they illustrate 
a penal regulation. 



502 MASONIC CRIMES. 

The first class of crimes which are laid down in 
the Constitutions, as rendering their perpetrators 
liable to Masonic jurisdiction, are offences against 
the moral law. " Every Mason/ 7 say the old Charges 
of 1722, " is obliged by his tenure to obey the moral 
law." Now, this moral law is not to be considered 
as confined to the decalogue of Moses, within which 
narrow limits the ecclesiastical writers technically 
restrain it, but rather as alluding to what is called 
the lex natures, or the law of nature. This law of 
nature has been defined by an able, but not recent 
writer on this subject, to be " the will of God, re- 
lating to human actions, grounded on the moral 
differences of things ; and because discoverable by 
natural light, obligator}^ upon all mankind. 77 * This 
is the " moral law, 77 to which the old Charge already 
cited refers, and which it declares to be the law of 
Masonry. And this was wisely done, for it is evi- 
dent that no law less universal could have been 
appropriately selected for the government of an in- 
stitution whose prominent characteristic is its uni- 
versality. The precepts of Jesus could not have 
been made obligatory on a Jew ; a Christian would 
have denied the sanctions of the Koran ; a Moham- 
medan must have rejected the law of Moses ; and a 
disciple of Zoroaster would have turned from all to 
the teachings of his Zeud Avesta. The universal 

* Grove, System of Moral Philosophy, vol. ii. p. 122. London, 1749, 
Dr. Conybeare' says, that " the law or religion of nature is so called, 
either because it is founded in the reason or nature of things ; or else be- 
cause it is discovered to us in the use and exetcise of those faculties which 
we enjoy.*'— Defence of Revealed Religion, p 11. 



MASONIC CRIMES. 503 

law of nature, which the authors of the old Charges 
have properly called the moral law, because it is, as 
Conybeare remarks, " a perfect collection of all 
those moral doctrines and precepts which have a 
foundation in the nature and reason of things/' is 
therefore the only law suited, in e^ery respect, to 
be adopted as the Masonic code.. 

Writers on this subject ha.ve given to this great 
moral law of nature three characters, which make it 
still more appropriate as a system for the govern- 
ment of a universal, ancient and unchangeable insti- 
tution ; for it is said in the first place to be eternal, 
having always existed — an " aeternum quidclam," as 
Cicero calls it — an eternal something, coeval with 
God. Next, it is universal ; all mankind, of every 
country and religion, being subject to it, whence 
the Roman historian appropriately calls it "jus 
hominum," or the law of men. And lastly, it is im- 
mutable, which immutability necessarily arises from 
the immutability of God, the author of the law. 

This moral law of nature being the code adopted 
for the government of the Masonic fraternity, it is 
proper that some inquiry should be made into the 
nature of the duties which it enjoins, and the acts 
which it prohibits. 

And, in the first place, the very existence of the 
law implies the existence of a Supreme Power, who 
must have enacted it, and of a responsibility to him 
for obedience to it. And hence the same charge 
which commences by declaring that a Mason is 
oound to obey the moral law, continues the precept 



504 MASONIC CRIMES. 

by asserting, that if he rightly understands the art, 
he will never be a stupid atheist, nor an irreligious 
libertine. Atheism, therefore, which is a rejection 
of a Supreme, superintending Creator, and irreli- 
gious libertinism, which, in the language of that day, 
signified a denial of all moral responsibility, are 
offences against the moral law, because they deny 
its validity and contemn its sanctions ; and hence 
they are to be classed as Masonic crimes. This is 
the only point of speculative theology with which 
Masonry interferes. But here it is stern and un- 
compromising. A man must believe in God, and 
recognize a moral responsibility to him, or he can- 
not be made a Mason ; or, if being made, he subse- 
quently adopts these views, he cannot remain in the 
Order. 

Again : the moral law inculcates love of God, 
love of our neighbor, and duty to ourselves.* Each 
of these embraces other incidental duties which are 
obligatory on every Mason. Thus, the love of God 
implies that we should abstain from all profanity 
and irreverent use of his name. The being whom 
we truly love, we cannot treat with disrespect. I 
know indeed of no offence more directly opposed to 
the whole spirit of the institution than a profane 

* It is singular how, without any concert, the writers on natural law 
arrive at precisely the same results which are to be found in our old Charges 
and Constitutions and ritual precepts. Grove says, " The three prime 
laws deduci'ole from hence are the love of God, the love of our fellow-crea- 
tures, and the regular management of our self-Iove.' : — Mor. Phil. ii. 190. 
Now, compare this with the Charge to an Entered Apprentice : " There are 
three great duties which as Masons you are charged to inculcate — to God, 
your neighbor, and yourself." — Webb, p. 45. 



MASONIC CRIMES. 505 

use of that holy name, which is the most important 
feature of the system of Masonry, as the all-pervad- 
ing symbol of that Divine truth which it is the pro- 
fessed object of every Mason to discover. Profanity 
in a Mason, therefore, while it is an insult to the 
majesty of our Maker, is also an irreverence for the 
religious design of the Masonic science, and as such 
is a Masonic crime. 

Universal benevolence, which Bishop Cumberland 
calls " the prime law of nature," is the necessary re- 
sult of love of our neighbor. Cruelty to one's in- 
feriors and dependents, uncharitableness to the poor 
and needy, and a general misanthropical neglect of 
our duty as men to our fellow, beings, exhibiting 
itself in extreme selfishness and indifference to the 
comfort or happiness of all others, are offences 
against the moral law, and therefore Masonic crimes. 
Job, in one of his affecting remonstrances, has 
beautifully enumerated the vices which flow from a 
want of sympathy with our fellow-beings, any one 
of which would, if committed by a Mason, be a fit- 
ting cause for the exercise of Masonic discipline. 
" If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or 
have caused the eyes of the widow to fail ; or have 
eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless 
have not eaten thereof ; if I have seen any perish 
for want of clothing, or any poor without a cover- 
ing ; if his loins have not blessed me, and he were 
not warmed with the fleece of my sheep, then let 
evil overtake me."* 

* Job. chap. xxxi. 16-20. 

22 



506 MASONIC CRIMES. 

Justice, which the civil law defines to oe " a con- 
stant and prevailing desire to give every one his 
just due,"* is another necessary result of love of our 
neighbor. As one of the cardinal virtues, the can- 
didate is instructed in the ritual of the first degree 
* ; never to deviate from its minutest principles." 
Injustice, therefore, in every form in which one man 
can do wrong to another, is a violation of the moral 
law, and a Masonic crime. 

Lastly, from our duty to ourselves result all those 
virtues, the practice of which enables us to discharge 
the obligations we owe to society, our family, and 
our friends. In neglecting this duty, by abusing 
the bounties of Providence, by impairing our facul- 
ties, by irregularity, and debasing our profession by 
intemperance, we violate the moral law, and are 
guilty of Masonic crime. 

Next to violations of the moral law, in the cate- 
gory of Masonic crimes, are to be considered the 
transgressions of the municipal law, or the law of 
the land. The jurists divide a T l wrongful acts into 
two classes— mala in se and nala proJiibita. A 
malum in se — an evil in itself — is that which is uni- 
versally acknowledged to be such among all civilized 
men. It is, in fact, a violation of the moral law of 
nature. Of this class are murder, theft, and similar 
crimes. A malum prohibitum — a prohibited evil — 
is that which has been conventionally made so by 
the enactment of the law ; so that what is malum 

* " Justitia est constans et perpetua voluntas jus suum cinque tribuendi."— 
Just, 1. 1. 



MASONIC CRIMES. 507 

prohibitum in one country, is no evil at all in 
another. Such, are violations of the game laws in 
England, or the selling of liquor without a license. 
Now, of course all mala in se are crimes in Masonic 
jurisprudence, because they are violations of the 
moral law. But make prohibita are not necessarily 
so, and would not be considered as such, if it were 
not for the relation that the laws of Masonry beai 
to the laws of the land. Obedience to constituted 
authority is one of the first duties which is impres- 
sed upon the mind of the candidate,* and hence he 
who transgresses the laws of the government under 
which he lives, violates the teachings of the Order, 
and is for this cause justly obnoxious to Masonic 
punishment. 

It may appear at first sight to be a violation of 
the great principles of justice to punish a man a 
second time for the same offence, and it may there- 
fore be supposed that when a Mason has once under- 
gone the penalty of the laws of his country, he 
should not be again tried and punished in his Lodge 
for the same crime. But this is not the theory upon 
which Masonic punishment is inflicted in such cases. 
When a Mason violates the laws of his country, he 
also commits a Masonic crime ; for, by his wrong 
doing, he not only transgresses the Masonic law of 
obedience, but he also " brings shame upon the 

* " In the state, yon are to be a qniet and peaceful subject, true to youi 
government, and just to your country ; you are not to countenance di-loyalty 
or rebellion, but patiently submit to legal authority, and conform with cheer- 
fulness to the government of the country in which you live." — Ciiarge to ar 
Entered Apprentice. Webb, p. 45. 



508 MASONIC CRIMES. 

craft/' 7 Of this crime the laws of the country take 
no cognizance ; and it is for this alone that he is to 
be tried and punished by a Masonic tribunal. 

And from this arises an important principle of 
Masonic law. If A shall have been tried and con- 
victed of a crime in the courts of his country, 
charges may be preferred against him in his Lodge 
for conduct unbecoming a Mason ; and on the trial 
it will not be necessary to introduce testimony to 
prove the commission of the act, as was done in the 
temporal court. It will be sufficient to adduce evi- 
dence of his conviction, and the fact of this convic- 
tion will be alone a good reason to render him 
obnoxious to a Masonic penalty. He has, by the 
conviction, brought " shame upon the craft," and for 
this he shall be punished. It is true that there may 
be cases in which it is apparent that the conviction 
in the court was an unjust one, or there may be pal- 
liating circumstances, which, without affecting the 
results in law, would tend greatly to mitigate the 
heinousness of the transaction. But the burthen of 
showing these palliating or mitigating features will 
lie upon the accused. Unless he can show cause to 
the contrary, he must be punished for having, by 
his bad conduct, brought censure and reproach on 
the fraternity.* 

* " Masons," said the Grand Orator of Texas. (Bro. James B. Likens) 
in 1856, " should so live and act as to be far above the taint of moral re- 
proach, and their course should be such as to reflect bright lustre upon the 
principles they profess, that our institution may increase in the esteem of the 
good, and an eternal silence be imposed on the envenomed tongue of igno- 
rant and malicious opposition." It is for disobedience to this wholesome 
precept that the v»rong-doing Mason must be punished. 



MASONIC CEIMES. 509 

But these remarks are only applicable to convic- 
tions of crimes which are of an infamous or igno- 
minious character ; for, where the offence is not 
against the moral law, but is simply a malum pro- 
hibitum, or is not of such a nature as to bring with 
it loss of reputation to the offender, then the Ma- 
sonic Order will, in most cases, be satisfied that the 
courts shall vindicate themselves, and will not inter- 
fere, except in special instances, to exercise Masonic 
jurisdiction. Thus, in the instance of a simple as- 
sault, in retaliation for injurious words, where one 
party only is a Mason, although the municipal law 
will not consider any words as a justification, and 
will proceed to conviction, still, as the offence is not 
infamous, nor the punishment ignominious, and the 
character of the Order does not need to be vindi- 
cated, the Lodge will not take cognizance of the 
act. The simple rule is, that where the crime is not 
against the moral, as well as the municipal law, the 
Order will not exercise jurisdiction over the offend- 
er, unless it is required for the vindication of the 
character of the institution, affected through the 
wrong-doing of one of its members. 

Again : the Order will take no cognizance of 
ecclesiastical or political offences. And this arises 
from the very nature of our society, which eschews 
all controversies about national religion or state 
policy.*" Hence apostasy, heresy and schisms, al- 
though considered in some governments as heinous 
offences, and subject to severe punishment, cannot 

* See the Charges of 1722, vi. 2, ante p. 64 



510 MASONIC CRIMES. 

become the foundation of a charge in a Masonic 
Lodge. 

Treason and rebellion also, because they are alto- 
gether political offences, cannot be inquired into by 
a Lodge ; and although a Mason may be convicted 
of either of these acts in the courts of his country 
he cannot be masonically punished ; and notwith 
standing his treason or rebellion, his relation to the 
Lodge, to use the language of the old Charges, 
remains indefeasible.* 

Lastly, in reference to the connection of the laws 
of the land with those of Masonry, it must be stated 
that an acquittal of a crime by a temporal court 
does not relieve a Mason from an inquisition into 
the same offence by his Lodge ; for acquittals may 
be the result of some technicality of law, or other 
cause, where, although the part}^ is relieved from 
legal punishment, his guilt is still manifest in the 
eyes of the community ; and if the Order were to be 
controlled by the action of the courts, the character 
of the institution might be injuriously affected by 
its permitting a man who had escaped without honor 
from the punishment of the law, to remain a mem- 
ber of the fraternity. In the language of the 
Grand Lodge of Texas, " an acquittal by a jury, 
while it may, and should, in some circumstances, 

* This doctrine is explicitly set forth in the old Charges approved in 1722, 
chap. ii. See ante p. 56. The wisdom of this Regulation will be apparent 
when we consider Jiat if treason and rebellion were Masonic crimes, almost 
every Mason in the United Colonies, in 1776, would have been subject to ex- 
pulsion, and every Lodge to a forfeiture of its warrant by the Grand Lodges 
ol England and Scotland, under whose jurisdiction they were at the time. 



MASONIC CRIMES. 511 

have its influence in deciding on the course to be 
pursued, yet has no binding force in Masonry. We 
decide on our own rules, and our own view of the 
facts. "* 

The last class of crimes which are cognizable by 
a Masonic tribunal, are violations of the Landmarks 
and Regulations of the Order. These are so nume- 
rous that space cannot be afforded for even a bare 
catalogue. Reference must be made only to a few 
of the most important character. 

A disclosure of any of the secrets which a Mason 
11 has promised to conceal and never reveal," is a 
heinous crime, and one which the monitorial lec- 
ture of the first degree expressly says, " would sub- 
ject him to the contempt and detestation of all good 
Masons."t 

Disobedience and want of respect to Masonic su- 
periors, is an offence for which the transgressor 
subjects himself to punishment.^ 

The bringing of " private piques or quarrels" into 
the Lodge is strictly forbidden by the old Charges, 
and the violation of this precept is justly considered 
as a Masonic offence. 

A want of courtesy and kindness to the brethren,§ 

* Rep. of Com. on Grievances and Appeals of G. L. of Texas. 1856. 
Proc. vol. ii. p. 273. 

f Webb, p. 42. 

X " These rulers and governors, supreme and subordinate, of the ancient 
Lodge, are to be obeyed in their respective stations by all the brethren .... 
with all humility, reverence, love and alacrity." — Charges of 1722, chap. iv. 
ante p. 57. 

§ "Every Mason shall cultivate brotherly love."' — Old York Oenstiiuliorts 
paiut 1. The doctrine is constantly taught in all the old Constitutions. 



512 MASONIC CRIMES. 

speaking calumniously of one behind his back,* or 
in any other way attempting to injure him,f is each 
a violation of the precepts of Masonry, and should 
be made the subject of investigation. 

Striking a Mason, except in self-defence, is a 
heinous transgression of the law of brotherly love, 
which is the foundation of Masonry. It is not, 
therefore, surprising that the more serious offence 
of duelling among Masons has been specifically con- 
demned, under the severest penalties, by several 
Grand Lodges. 

The ancient Installation Charges in the time of 
James II., expressly prohibit a Mason from doing 
any dishonor to the wife or daughter of his brother ; X 
but it is scarcely necessary to remark that still 
higher authority for this prohibition may be found 
in the ritualistic Landmarks of the Order. 

Gambling is also declared to be a Masonic offence 
in the old Charges.g 

As I have already said, it would be possible, but 
hardly necessary, to extend this list of Masonic 
offences against the Constitutions and Regulations 
of the Order. They must be learned from a dili- 

* " If a Mason live amiss, or slander his brother, so as to bring the craft 
to shame, he shall have no farther maintenance among the brethren."— 
Ibid, point 10. 

f " A Mason shall not deny the work of a brother or fellow, but shall deal 
honestly and truly by him." — Ibid, art. 12. 

X <; Ye shall not take your fellow's wife in villainy, nor deflower his daugh- 
ter or servant, nor put him to dis worship." — Anc. Inst. Charges, 5. See 
ante p. 50. 

§ " A Mason must be no common player at the cards, dice, or hazard."- 
Ancient Charges at Makings, 8 ; ante p. 51. 



MASONIC CRIMES. 513 

gent perusal of these documents, and the study of 
the Landmarks and ritualistic observances. It is 
sufficient to say that whatever is a violation of 
fidelity to solemn engagements, a neglect of pre- 
scribed duties, or a transgression of the cardinal 
principles of friendship, morality and brotherly love, 
is a Masonic crime, and renders the offender liable 
to Masonic punishment. 



22* 



CHAPTER II. 
pcasontc ^nnisiimtritts. 

The object of all punishment, according to the 
jurists, is twofold : to vindicate the offended majesty 
of the law, and to prevent its future violation by 
others, through the impressive force of example. 
In reference to this latter view, it is reported of 
Lord Mansfield that on a certain occasion he said, 
"A man is not hung because he has committed a 
larceny, but he is hung that larcenies may not be 
committed." This is perhaps the most humane and 
philosophical principle on which the system of 
punishments can be founded. To punish merely as 
a satisfaction to the law, partakes too much of the 
nature of private retaliation or revenge, to be worthy 
of a statesmanlike policy. 

But in the theory of Masonic punishments, an- 
othei element is to be added, which may readily 
be cci^ectured from what has already been said 
on the subject of crimes in the last chapter. Pun- 
ishment in Masonry is inflicted that the character 
of the institution may remain unsullied, and that 
the unpunished crimes of its members may not 



MASONIC PUNISHMENTS. 515 

injuriously reflect upon the reputation of the whole 
society. 

The right, on the part of the Masonic Order, to 
inflict punishment on its members, is derived from 
the very nature of all societies. '"Inasmuch," says 
President Wayland * " as the formation of a society 
involves the idea of a moral obligation, each party 
is under moral obligation to fulfill its part of the 
contract. The society is bound to do what it has 
promised to every individual, and every individual 
is bound to do what he has promised to the society." 
It is this mutual obligation which makes a violation 
of a purely Masonic law a penal offence, and which 
gives to the Lodge the right of imposing the penalty. 
Protection of the good and punishment of the bad, 
are a part of the contract entered into by the Order, 
and each of its members. 

But the nature of the punishment to be inflicted 
is restricted within certain limits by the peculiar 
character of the institution, which is averse to some 
forms of penalty, and by the laws of the land, which 
do not give to private corporations the right to im- 
pose certain species of punishment. 

The infliction of fines or pecuniary penalties has, 
in modern times at least, been considered as con- 
trary to the genius of Masonry, because the sanc- 
tions of Masonic law are of a higher nature than 
any that could be furnished by a pecuniary penalty. 
The imposition of a fine for transgression of duty, 
would be a tacit acknowledgment of the inadequacy 

* Elements of Moral Science, p. 335. 



516 MASONIC CENSURE. 

of those sanctions, and would hence detract from 
their solemnity and binding nature.* 

Imprisonment and corporal punishment are equally 
adverse to the spirit of the institution, and are also 
prohibited by the laws of the land, which reserve 
the infliction of such penalties for their own 
tribunals. 

Masonic punishments are therefore restricted to 
the expression of disapprobation, or the deprivation 
of Masonic rights, and may be considered under the 
following heads : 

1. Censure ; 

2. Reprimand ; 

3. Exclusion ; 

4. Suspension, Definite or Indefinite ; 

5. Expulsion. 

To each of these a distinct section must be 
allotted. 



SECTION I. 

M A SONIC CENSURE. 

In the canon law, ecclesiastical censure was a 
penalty which carried with it a deprivation of com- 
munion, or, in the case of clergymen, a prohibition 
to exercise the sacerdotal office. 

But in Masonic law, it is the mildest form of 
punishment that can be inflicted, and may be de- 
fined to be a formal expression of disapprobation, 

* Except in a single article of the Gothic Constitutions of 926, 1 do not find 
in any of the old Constitutions, Regulations aud Charges, the remotest refer 
ence to a pecuniary penalty for the breach of any Masonic duty. 



REPRIMAND. 517 

without other result than the effect produced upon 
the feelings of him who is censured. 

The censure of a member for any violation of 
duty is to be adopted in the form of a resolution, 
which simply expresses the fact that the Lodge dis- 
approves of his conduct in the particular act. It 
may be adopted by a bare majority, and effects no 
deprivation of Masonic rights or Masonic standing. 
Inasmuch, however, as it is a penalty inflicted for 
an offence, although a very light one, it is due to 
comity and the principles of justice, that the party 
towards whom the censure is to be directed should 
be notified of the fact, that he may have an oppor- 
tunity to defend himself. A member, therefore, 
wishing to propose a vote of censure, should always 
give notice of the same ; or, what amounts to the 
same thing, the resolution of censure should never 
be proposed and acted on at the same meeting. 

It is competent for any member, in the same way, 
and on notice given, to move the revocation of a 
vote of censure ; and the Lodge may, at any regu- 
lar communication, reverse such a vote. It is al- 
ways in the power of a Lodge to retrace its steps 
when an act of injustice is to be redressed. 

SECTION n. 

REPRIMAND. 

Reprimand is the next grade of Masonic punish 
ment, and may be defined as a severe reproof for 
*ome fault formally communicated to the offender. 



518 REPRIMAND. 

It differs from censure in this, that censure is 
simply the expression of an opinion in relation to 
certain conduct, while reprimand is an actual punish- 
ment inflicted on the offender by some officer ap- 
pointed for that purpose. 

Censure, as I have already said, may be expressed 
on a mere motion, and does not demand the forms 
of trial, although the party against whom it is pro- 
posed to direct the censure should always have an 
opportunity of defending his conduct, and of oppos- 
ing the motion for censure. 

But reprimand cannot be predicated on a mere 
motion. It must be preceded by charges and a 
trial. I suppose, however, that a mere majority 
will be competent to adopt a sentence of reprimand. 

Reprimand is of two kinds, private and public — 
the latter of which is a higher grade of punishment 
than the former. Private reprimand is generally 
communicated to the offender in the form of a let- 
ter. Public reprimand is given orally in the Lodge, 
and in the presence of all the brethren. The mode 
and terms in which the reprimand is to be communi- 
cated are of course left to the discretion of the 
executive officer ; but it may be remarked that no 
additional ignominy should be found in the language 
in which the sentence of the Lodge is communicated. 
The punishment consists in the fact that a repri- 
mand has been ordered, and not in the uncourteous 
terms with which the language of that reprimand 
may be clothed. But under particular circumstances 
the Master may find it expedient to dilate upon 



EXCLUSION. 519 

the nature of the offence which has incurred the 
reprimand. 

The Master of the Lodge is the proper person to 
whom the execution of the reprimand should be 
intrusted. 

Lastly, a reprimand does not affect the Masonic 
standing of the person reprimanded. 



SECTION in. 

EXCLUSION. 

In the Grand Lodge of England, the word ex- 
clusion is technically used to express the act of re- 
moving a Mason from a private Lodge, by the act 
of the Lodge itself, or of a Provincial Grand Lodge, 
while expulsion is employed to signify the same act 
when performed by the Grand Lodge." But in this 
country, this use of the word is not known. 

Exclusion, under the American law of Masonry, 
may be briefly defined to be a deprivation of the 
rights and benefits of Masonry, so far as they relate 
to any particular Lodge, but not to the whole fra- 
ternity. It is of two kinds, temporary and perma- 
nent, each of which must be separately considered. 

1. Temporary Exclusion. — A violation of the 
rules of order and decorum, either in a member or 
visitor, subjects such offender to the penalty of ex- 

* "The tenr expelled is used only when a brother is removed from the 
craft by the Grand Lodge. In a district Grand Lodge, or upon removal of 
a brother from a private Lodge, the term excluded only is applicable.'*— 
Const, a. L. of England, 1847, page 67, note. 



520 EXCLUSION. 

elusion for tliat communication from the Lodge. 
It may be inflicted either by a vote of a majority 
of the Lodge, or. as is more usually done, by the 
exercise, on the part of the Master, of his preroga- 
tive ; for the Master of every Lodge has the inhe- 
rent privilege to exclude any person from visiting 
the Lodge, or remaining during the communication, 
if his presence would be productive of injury to the 
Order, by impairing its harmony or affecting its 
peaceful pursuit of Masonic labor. If a Mason, 
whether he be a member or a visitor, apply for ad- 
mission, the Master, if he knows or believes that 
the admission of the applicant would result in the 
production of discord, may exclude him from en- 
trance ; and this prerogative he exercises in virtue 
of being the superintendent of the work. But this 
prerogative has already been discussed in preced- 
ing pages of this work, to which the reader is 
referred.* 

If a member or visitor shall behave in an unbe- 
coming and disorderly manner, he may be excluded 
for that communication, either by the Master or the 
Lodge. The Master possesses the power of exclu- 
sion on such an occasion, under the prerogative to 
which reference has just been made ; and the Lodge 
possesses the same right, by the especial sanction 
of the ritual, which, at the very opening of the 
Lodge, forbids all " immoral or unmasonic conduct, 
whereby the peace and harmony of the Lodge may 
be impaired, under no less a penalty than the by 

* See ante p. 203, and p. 348. 



EXCLUSION. 521 

laws may impose, or a majority of the brethren 
present see fit to inflict. 77 

The command of the Master, therefore, or the 
vote of a majority of the Lodge, is sufficient to in- 
flict the penalty of temporary exclusion. The forms 
of trial are unnecessary, because the infliction of the 
penalty does not affect the Masonic standing of the 
person upon whom it is inflicted. An appeal, how- 
ever, always lies in such cases to the Grand Lodge, 
which will, after due investigation, either approve 
or disapprove of the action of the Lodge or the 
Master, and the vote of censure or disapprobation 
will be, of course, from the temporary nature of the 
penalty, the only redress which a Mason, injured by 
its wrongful infliction, can obtain. 

2. Permanent Exclusion. — This penalty is, in this 
country, only inflicted for non-payment of arrears, 
and is more usually known as the act of striking 
from the roll. There are a few Grand Lodges 
which still permit the punishment of suspension to 
be inflicted for non-payment of arrears ; but the 
good sense of the fraternity is rapidly leading to 
the conclusion, that the infliction of such a penalty 
in these cases — a penalty severing the connection 
of the delinquent with the whole Order, for an 
offence committed against a particular Lodge— an 
offence, too, involving- no violation of the moral law, 
and which is, in many instances, the result rather of 
misfortune than of a criminal disposition — is op- 
pressive, and altogether opposed to the equitable 
and benign principles of the Masonic institution. 



522 EXCLUSION. 

Hence erasure from the roll. or. in other words, pe** 
man en t exclusion, is now beginning to be considered 
as the only adequate punishment for an omission 
to pay the annual tax imposed by every Lodge on 
its members/" 

I say that suspension is an oppressive and inade- 
quate penalty for the offence of non-payment of 
dues, and it is perhaps proper that this position, as 
it is contrary to the practical views of a few Grand 
Lodges, should be maturely examined. 

This striking of names from a Lodge roll is alto- 
gether a modern practice, taking its rise since the 
modern organization of permanent Lodges. In 
ancient times, Lodges were temporary associations 
of Masons for special and limited purposes. Ori- 
ginally, as Preston informs us, " a sufficient number 
of Masons, met together within a certain district, 
with the consent of the sheriff or chief magistrate 
of the place, were empowered to make Masons, and 
practise the rights of Masonry without warrant of 
constitution. " Then, of course, there being no per- 
manency of organization, there were no permanent 
members, and consequently no payment of arrears, 
and no striking from the roll. It was only after 

* Thus, the Grand Lodge of South Carolina, in 1845, adopted a regulation, 
declaring that " the penalty of expulsion for non-payment of arrears is abro- 
gated by this Grand Lodge, and the only punishment to be hereafter inflicted 
for such defalcation shall be a discharge from membership." And the Con- 
stitution of the Grand Lodge of New York (1854) prescribes, that " arrears 
for one year's dues shall subject a member to be stricken from the roll of his 
Lodge ;..... and the member shall thereupon become non-affiliated ; but 
no act of censure, suspension or expulsion, shall be pronounced thereon for 
non-payment of dues only." 



EXCLUSION. 523 

1717, that all these things were introduced ; and as 
Lodges pay some contribution to the Grand Lodge 
for each of their members, it is evident, as well as 
from other palpable reasons, that a member who 
refuses or neglects to support the general Lodge 
fund, will become pecuniarily onerous to the Lodge. 
Still, the non-payment of arrears is only a violation 
of a special voluntary obligation to a particular 
Lodge, and not of any general duty to the frater- 
nity at large. The punishment therefore inflicted 
(if it is to be considered at all as a punishment,) 
should be exclusion or erasure from the roll, which 
only affects the relations of the offender with his 
own Lodge, and not suspension, which would affect 
his relations with, the whole Order, whose moral 
code he has not violated. 

Does striking from the roll, then, impair the 
general rights of a Mason ? Are its effects, even in 
a modified form, similar to those of suspension or 
expulsion, and is his standing in the Order affected 
by the erasure of his name? Bro. W. M. Perkins, 
the late able Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of 
Louisiana, writing on this subject in his annual ad- 
dress in 1858, said, that " striking his name from 
the roll of the members of the Lodge, under a by- 
law, does not affect a brother's standing in the fra- 
ternity, nor debar him from any of the privileges of 
Masonry, except that of membership in the particu- 
lar Lodge. 7 '* 

I cordially concur with Bro. Perkins in this view. 

* Proc. G. L. of Louisiana. 1858. — G-rand Masters Address. 



524 EXCLUSION. 

I cannot for a moment suppose that a transgression 
of the by-laws of a particular Lodge, involving no 
moral turpitude, and violating no general law of the 
Order, can have any effect on the relations of the 
transgressor with the Order. He who is excluded 
from membership in his Lodge, for not complying 
with the rule which levies a tax upon him, loses, of 
course, his membership in that Lodge ; but his mem- 
bership in the great body of the craft, against 
whom he has committed no offence, still remains 
unimpaired. 

But he loses something. He is, to a certain ex- 
tent, shorn of his Masonic privileges ; for he for- 
feits the right of membership in his own Lodge, and 
with it all the other rights which are consequent on 
such membership. And hence the question naturally 
arises, can he be deprived of this right of member- 
ship — can his name be stricken from the roll — by 
the mere operation of a by-law, without any form 
of trial, and without any opportunity for defence or 
explanation? 

Now, to say nothing of the injustice which is in 
many instances perpetrated when a Mason is stricken 
from the roll of his Lodge for non-payment of dues — 
since the omission to pay may often arise from po- 
verty, misfortune, excusable neglect, or other causes 
beyond the control of the delinquent — to say no- 
thing of all this — because the question here is not 
as to the nature of the offence, but as to the mode 
in which punishment is to be inflicted — it follows, 
from all the recognized principles of justice, law 



exclusion. 525 

and coraraon sense, that the crime should be first 
proved, and the accused be heard in his defence, 
before judgment be pronounced against him. 

The erasure of a member's name, by the mere 
operation of a by-law of his Lodge, without any 
opportunity being given to him to explain or defend 
his conduct — to offer reasons why the law should 
not be enforced in his case, or to prove that he has 
not violated its provisions, would, under any other 
circumstances, and in relation to any other offence, 
be at once admitted everywhere to be a most mani- 
fest violation of all Masonic law and equity. If 
the by-laws of a Lodge, for instance, prescribed 
erasure for habitual intemperance, and required the 
Secretary to keep a record of the number of times 
that each member exceeded the strict limits of so- 
briet} T , who will dare to say that at any time, on 
the mere report of the Secretary that a member had 
violated this by-law, and was habitually intemper- 
ate, he should at once, without further action, and 
by the mere operation of the b} T -law in question, be 
stricken from the roll of his Lodge 1 There is no 
one who docs not see the obvious necessity, in such 
a case, of a charge, a summons, and a trial. To ex- 
clude the worst member of a Lodge under such a 
by-law, without these preliminary measures, would 
be so fatal a violation of the principles of Masonry, 
as justly to subject the Lodge to the severest repre- 
hension of the Grand Lodge. 

And yet the fact that the offence is not intempe- 
rance, but non-payment of arrears, does not in the 



528 EXCLUSION. 

slightest degree involve a difference of principle. 
Admit, for the sake of argument,* that the failure 
to pay Lodge dues is in itself a Masonic offence, and 
that a Lodge is right to declare exclusion an appro- 
priate punishment for its commission, still there 
exists here, as in the more undoubted crime of 
habitual drunkenness, as necessary elements to the 
justice of the punishment, that there should be a 
charge, a summons and a trial — that the defaulting 
brother should have an opportunity to defend him- 
self, and that the Secretary who accuses him should 
be made to prove the truth of his charge, by the 
correctness of his accounts. It is the M&gna Cliarta 
of Masonic liberty " that no Mason can be punished 
or deprived of any of the privileges of Masonry, 
except upon conviction after trial ;" and to this, in 
every other case, except non-payment of arrears, 
there will not, I suppose, be a single dissenting 
voice in the whole body of the craft. It is time 
that, guided by the dictates of sound justice and 
good common sense, this exception should no longer 
be made. It is time that the Mason should no 
longer be permitted to say, as a reproach to the 

* I use this qualifying phrase, because it is evident, that in cases of po- 
verty, misfortune, or other unavoidable inability, non-payment of arrears is 
not a Masonic offence, nor an offence of any kind. And when it can be 
proved that the omission to pay arises from an intention to defraud ihe Lodge 
of its just dues, or from any similar cause, then a new offence is generated, 
of which the Lodge should take cognizance, under a distinct charge. In all 
that has been here said of non-payment of dues, it is viewed simply as a 
debt, the obligation to discharge which is admitted, but the criminality of 
not complying with which obligation is not always evident, nor necessarily 
to be assumed. 



EXCLUSION. 527 

consistency of our legal code, " I may lie, I may 
steal, nay, I may commit murder, and my Lodge 
-will not and dare not deprive me of my Masonic 
privileges, except after a conviction derived from 
an impartial trial ; but if I omit to pay the Secre- 
tary a few dollars, then, upon his mere report, with- 
out any opportunity given me to show that the 
omission was the result of ignorance, of poverty, of 
sickness, or of misfortune, I may, without trial and 
with no chance of defence, be visited with the se- 
vere penalty of Masonic exclusion.' 7 

If, then, it be admitted, as I presume it will, that 
expulsion or suspension cannot be inflicted without 
trial, and that, simply because it is a punishment, 
and because punishment should always follow, and 
not precede conviction, then to strike the name of a 
member from the roll of his Lodge, would be 
equally as illegal, unless he were called upon to 
show cause why it should not be clone. The one 
principle is strictly analogous with the other. If 
you cannot suspend without trial, neither can you 
strike from the roll without trial. It is unneces- 
sary, therefore, to extend the argument ; but I sup- 
pose that the postulate will be granted under the 
general axiom, that no punishment whatsoever can 
be inflicted without preliminary trial and oppor- 
tunity for defence. 

And therefore it may be laid down as Masonic 
law, that no member should be stricken from the 
roll of his Lodge, except after due notice given to 
him, and opportunity afforded for defence • after 



528 SUSPENSION. 

which it is generally held, that a vote of the majority 
will be sufficient to put the by-law in force, and de- 
clare the penalty of exclusion. 



SECTION IV. 

SUSPENSION. 

We have now arrived, in the course of our in- 
vestigations, at a class of punishments which affect 
the standing in the Order of the persons upon whom 
they are inflicted. Of these the least, and therefore 
the first to be considered, is suspension. 

Suspension may be defined to be a temporary 
privation of the rights and privileges of Masonry. 
This privation may be for a fixed or an indetermi- 
nate period, whence results the division of this class 
of punishments into two kinds — definite and indefi- 
nite. The effect of the penalty is, for the time that 
it lasts, the same in both kinds ; but as there are 
some differences in the mode in which restoration 
to rights is to be effected in each, a separate con- 
sideration will be required. 

Definite Suspension. — By definite suspension, is 
meant a deprivation of the rights and privileges of 
Masonry for a fixed period of time, which period is 
always named in the sentence. By the operation 
of this penalty, a Mason is for the time prohibited 
from the exercise of all his Masonic privileges. 
His rights are placed in abeyance, and he can 
neither visit Lodges, hold Masonic communication, 



suspension. 529 

nor receive fraternal relief, during the period for 
which he has been suspended. 

But he is still a Mason. By suspension, as by the 
" relegatio" of the Roman law, Masonic citizenship 
is not lost, although the exercise of its rights, and 
duties is temporarily interdicted. And therefore, 
as soon as the period^ limited by the sentence has 
expired, the Mason at once resumes his former posi- 
tion in the Order, and is reinvested with all his. Ma- 
sonic rights, whether those rights be of a private or 
of an official nature. 

Thus, if an officer of a Lodge has been suspended 
for three months from all the rights and privileges 
of Masonry, a suspension of his official functions 
also takes place. But a suspension from the dis- 
charge of the functions of an office is not a depriva- 
tion of the office ; and therefore, as soon as the 
three months to which the suspension had been 
limited have expired, the brother resumes all his 
rights in the Order and the Lodge, and with them, 
of course, the office which he had held at the time 
that the sentence of suspension had been inflicted. 

No sentence of suspension can be imposed upon 
any Mason, except after the most solemn forms of 
trial, ami then only by the concurring vote of two- 
thirds of the members present. 

It is impossible to define, in a work on the gene- 
ral principles of law, what is the nature and degree 
of the offences for which suspension would be con- 
sidered as an appropriate punishment. The Grand 
Lodge of New York has declared that it is only to 
23 



530 SUSPENSION. 

be inflicted " where the offence is against some 
police or temporary regulation of the fraternity. 7 '* 

If any rule is to be prescribed on the subject, this 
is perhaps the best ; but in fact, the apportionment 
of the punishment to the crime, in all violations of 
the Masonic law, is to be left to the sound discre- 
tion of the Lodge which has tried the case ; and in 
every trial there will, of necessity, appear many 
qualifying circumstances peculiar to each transac- 
tion, which must control and direct the court in its 
infliction of punishment. 

Restoration from definite suspension may take 
place in two ways. First, by a vote of the Lodge, 
abridging the period of suspension and restoring the 
party before the term of suspension has expired. 
This may be considered in the light of a pardon ; 
and this clemency it is the prerogative of the Lodge 
to exercise, under the necessary restrictions that 
the restoration is made at a regular communication 
of the Lodge, and by a vote of two-thirds of those 
present ; for, as it required that number to impose 
the sentence, it will not be competent for a less 
number to reverse it. But due notice, at least one 
month previously, should be given of the intention 
to move for a restoration, because the reversal of a 
sentence is an unusual action, and the members will, 
by such notice, be enabled to be present and to ex- 
press their views, while a sudden motion, without 
due notice, would take the Lodge by surprise, and 
surprises are as contrary to the spirit of Masonic 
as they are of Municipal law. 



SUSPENSION. 531 

In the next place, and this is the most usual mode, 
restoration from definite suspension results from the 
natural expiration of the period fixed by the sen- 
tence. Thus, if on the 1st day of January, a mem- 
ber be suspended for three months, that is to say, 
until the 1st day of April, then on the 1st of April, 
he at once, and by the mere operation of the law, 
becomes a restored Mason. No vote of the Xodge 
is necessary ; for its previous action, which had de- 
clared him to be suspended until the 1st of April, 
included the fact that he was not to be suspended 
any longer 5* and therefore, on the 2d of April, he 
is, by the expiration of his sentence, in good stand- 
ing. No vote of the Lodge is therefore necessary 
to restore one, who has been definitely suspended, at 
the expiration of his sentence ; but he at once, by 
the very terms of that sentence, takes his place as a 
Mason restored to all his rights. 

In former works, I had very elaborately con- 
sidered the question, but it is scarcely necessary to 
repeat, in this place, anything more than the gene- 
ral conclusion ; and besides, I confess that there is 
some difficulty in adducing arguments to prove that 
suspension for three months means suspension for 
three months, and no more. It is difficult to prove 
all truisms. The ingenious logician may find it a 
pleasant task to establish some doubtful thesis, but 
an irksome one to prove that " white is white and 

* E.tpressio unius est exclusio alterius — the express mention of one 
thing implies the exclusion of another. A sentence of suspension for three 
months excludes the idea of a suspension for even a day longer. 



5.3 2 SUSPENSION. 

black is black." The learned mathematician will 
delight in demonstrating some abstruse proposition, 
but will scarcely know how to establish the fact 
that " things which are equal to the same thing, are 
equal to each other." So is it equally tedious and 
unsatisfactory to show, by special arguments, that 
when the sentence of a Lodge is, that " A B shall 
be suspended for three months, 77 it means anything 
more than that, at the expiration of the three 
months, the suspension shall determine and cease. 

Indefinite Suspension. — Indefinite suspension, as 
the qualifying word imports, is a suspension for a 
period not determined and fixed by the sentence, 
but to continue during the pleasure of the Lodge. 
In this respect only does it differ from the preced- 
ing punishment. The position of a Mason, under 
definite or indefinite suspension, is precisely the 
same as to the exercise of all his rights and privi- 
leges, which in both cases remain in abeyance, and 
restoration in each brings with it a resumption of 
all the rights and functions, the exercise of which 
had been interrupted by the sentence of suspension. 

There is, however, a shade of difference between 
the two punishments — indefinite suspension being 
inflicted for offences of a more aggravated nature 
than those for which the penalty of definite sus- 
pension is prescribed. It must, of course, be the 
result of conviction, after due charges and trial, and 
can only be inflicted by a vote of two-thirds of the 
members present. 

Restoration of an indefinitely suspended member 



suspension. 533 

is always by a resolution of the Lodge, and by a 
vote of two-thirds. This seems to be an un question 
able principle of law ; for when a member has been 
indefinitely suspended, the very word " indefinitely" 
implies that he may, at any time thereafter, whether 
it be one month or one year, be restored. No time 
for his restoration is specified in the terms of the 
sentence. He is indefinitely suspended — suspended 
for an uncertain period — that is, during the pleasure 
of the Lodge. And therefore I hold, that at any 
regular communication, it is competent for a mem- 
ber to move for a restoration, which motion may be 
adopted by a concurring vote of two-thirds of the 
members present. 

In this case no previous notice of the intention to 
move for a restoration is necessary, because no 
member has a right to plead, that by such a motion 
he is taken by surprise. The very terms of the sen- 
tence of indefinite suspension include the fact that 
the sentence may, at any time, be terminated by the 
action of the Lodge. Due notice of a regular com- 
munication is supposed to be given to every mem- 
ber ; and the fact that it is a regular communication 
is in itself a notice by the by-laws. The restoration 
of a Mason, suspended for a definite period, before 
the expiration of his term of sentence, is something 
that no member has a right to expect ; and there- 
fore, as I have already said, a motion for such resto- 
ration might act as a surprise. But a member 
indefinitely suspended is suspended during the plea- 
sure of the Lodge, and it is competent for the Lodge, 



534 SUSPENSION. 

at any time, to declare that such suspension shall 
terminate. While, however, such is the legal prin- 
ciple, it is not to be denied that Masonic comity 
should induce any member about to propose a mo- 
tion for restoration, to give timely notice of his in- 
tention to his brethren, and. the restoration itself 
will be of a much more honorable character when 
thus made, after due notice, mature consideration, 
and in a full Lodge, than when suddenly granted, 
upon a moment's notice, and perhaps at a thinly 
attended meeting. 

Do the annual dues of a member under suspension 
continue to accrue during his suspension ? I should 
say, clearly not. Dues are paid by members to their 
Lodges for the enjoyment and exercise of certain 
rights which pertain to membership. If the exer- 
cise of these rights is prohibited, it seems but an 
equitable conclusion that payment for the exercise 
of the rights should be suspended with the suspen- 
sion of the rights themselves. No man should be 
made to pay for that which he docs not receive. 

This view is practically adopted everywhere in 
the case of indefinite suspension ; for the Secretary 
invariably abstains from continuing his account 
with an indefinitely suspended member, and I see 
no reason why a different rule should be adopted in 
reference to members under definite suspension. 
The two penalties differ only in respect to the ex- 
tent of time for which they are inflicted, and in the 
forms to be pursued in acquiring restoration. In 
all other respects they are precisely alike, and are 
to be governed by the same principles. 



EXPULSION. . 535 

SECTION V. 
EXPULSION. 

Expulsion is the severest punishment that can be 
inflicted on a delinquent Mason. If suspension finds 
its similitude in the imprisonment, or rather, in the 
banishment of the municipal law, expulsion may as 
properly be compared to the punishment of death. 
There is a remarkable coincidence between the sen- 
tence of expulsion by Masonic authority and the 
sentence of death by the law of the land, each of 
which is " the most terrible and highest judgment" 
in the respective judicatures. " When it is clear, 
beyond all dispute," says Blackstone, " that the crimi- 
nal is no longer fit to live upon the earth, but is to 
be exterminated as a monster and bane to human so- 
ciety, the law sets a note of infamy upon him, puts 
him out of its protection, and takes no further care 
of him than to see him executed. He is then called 
attindus, stained or blackened."* So, when the sen- 
tence of expulsion is pronounced against a Mason, 
his Masonic existence at once ceases; he is no longer 
looked upon as a Mason — all communication with 
him as such ceases, just as much as if he were actu- 
ally dead. His testimony cannot be taken in a 
Masonic trial — for, like the felon convicted of a 
capital crime, he has been attainted, and rendered 
infamous— his brethren can know him no more. 
Expulsion is, in one word, Masonic death. 

As this penalty is of-so severe a nature, rupturing 

* Oommpotaries, B. iv., ch. 29. 



536 expulsion. 

all the lies which bind a Mason to the fraternity, it 
is evident that it should only be inflicted for the 
most heinous offences — offences which, in their na- 
ture, affect the character, the well-being and the 
safety of the whole society, and hence the Grand 
Lodge of New York has very wisely ordered that 
it shall only follow " a gross violation of the moral 
law, or the fundamental principles of Masonry, or 
attempts against any part of the frame-work of its 
government. 77 * The penalty is not inflicted so much 
as a punishment of the guilty person, as it is as a safe- 
guard or security of the Order. The object is not 
to reform an evil, but to prevent its influence on the 
fraternity. A Mason who habitually transgresses 
the moral code, or lives in constant violation of the 
fundamental teachings of the Order, is to the so- 
ciety, what a gangrenous limb is to the body. The 
incurable wound, says the Roman poet, must be cut 
off with the knife, lest the healthy part of the body 
be involved in the disease. f And so the unworthy 
Mason is to be expelled from the Order, lest his ex- 
ample spread, and disease be propagated through 
the whole constitution of Masonry. But, in accord- 
ance with this principle, expulsion should be inflicted 
only for offences which affect the security and honor 
of the whole Order. The remedy should never be 
applied to transgressions of a subordinate nature, 
which neither deserve nor require its application. 

* Const. G. L. of New York, § 47. 

■f- " immedicabile vnlnus 

Ense reddendum ; ne pars sincera trahatur.' — Ovid, Met. I., 190. 



expulsion. 537 

As this is a penalty which affects the general re- 
lations of the offender to the whole "body of the 
craft, and cancels his connection with the Order, it 
would seen reasonable that it should be inflicted 
only by the supreme authority, and not by a sub- 
ordinate Lodge. Hence, the modern Constitutions 
of English Masonry declare, that " in the Grand 
Lodge alone resides the power of erasing Lodges, 
and expelling brethren from the craft ; a power 
which it ought not to delegate to any subordinate 
authority in England. "* 

In this country the same theory has always existed 
and, hence, the Grand Lodges have constantly exer- 
cised the prerogative of restoring expelled Masons 
to the privileges of the Order, but practically, the 
power of expelling has been vested in the subordi- 
nate Lodges. And yet, as I have just observed, the 
English theory is still retained. The subordinate 
Lodge tries the accused, and if he is found guilty, 
pronounces the sentence of expulsion; but this ac- 
tion of the Lodge must be submitted to the Grand 
Lodge, whose tacit confirmation is given^ if there 
be no appeal; but if there be one, the Grand Lodge 
will then exercise its prerogative, and review the 
case, confirming or reversing the sentence of expul- 
sion, as it may deem most proper. 

In America, where nearly all the Grand Lodges 
meet only annually, and where the jurisdiction is 
often extended over a vast surface of territory, it 
does seem expedient that the power of conditional 

* Const G. L. of Eng., 1947, p. 23. 

23* 



538 EXPULSION. 

expulsion should be vested in subordinate Lodges, 
but this power can only be a delegated one, for the 
prerogative of expulsion from the craft was always 
an inherent one, vested, by the very nature of the 
institution, the rights of the members, and the na- 
ture of the punishment, in the General Assembly. 
The very fact, as I have elsewhere said,* that ex- 
pulsion is a penalty, affecting the general relations 
of the punished party with the whole fraternity, 
proves that its unconditional and final exercise never 
could, with propriety or justice, be entrusted to a 
body so circumscribed in its authority as a subordi- 
nate Lodge. 

The principle of the law on this subject, appears 
then to be, in this country, that a subordinate Lodge 
may try a delinquent and pronounce the sentence of 
expulsion, but that that sentence must be confirmed 
by the Grand Lodge, to make it final. This confir- 
mation is generally given by a silent reception of 
the report of the Lodge; but it is always competent 
for a Grand Lodge, with, or without an appeal from 
the punished party, to review the transaction, and 
wholly or in part to reverse the sentence. But, by the 
usages of the Order, the sentence of the Lodge will 
stand until the Grand Lodge has given its decision. 

An important question remains to be discussed, 
which refers not only to the penalty of expulsion, 
but also to that of suspension. Does suspension or 
expulsion from a Chapter of Ttoyal Arch Masons 
a Council of Royal and Select Masters, or an En- 

* Lexicon of Freemasonry, Art. Expulsion. 



EXPULSION. 539 

campment of Knights Templar, carry with it, as a 
necessary consequence, suspension or expulsion from 
symbolic Masonry? To this question, reason and 
the general usages of the Order lead me, unhesi- 
tatingly to reply, that it does not. The converse 
of the proposition is however true, and suspension 
or expulsion from a symbolic Lodge is*necessarily 
suspension or expulsion from all the higher bodies. 

The principle upon which this doctrine is based 
is a very plain one. If the axe be applied to the 
trunk of the tree, the branches which spring out of 
it, and derive their subsistence through it, must die. 
If the foundation be removed, the edifice must fall. 
But a branch may be lopped off and the trunk will 
still live ; the cape-stone may be taken away, but 
the foundation will remain intact. So, Symbolic 
Masonry — the Masonry of the Lodge — is the trunk 
of the tree — the foundation of the whole Masonic 
edifice. The Masonry of the Chapter or the Coun- 
cil is but the branch which springs forth from the 
tree, and receives all its nourishment from it. It is 
the cape-stone which finishes and ornaments the build- 
ing that rests upon Symbolic Masonry. Hence there 
is an evident dependence of the higher on the lower 
degrees, while the latter are wholly independent of, 
and may exist without the former. 

Again, from the very organization of the two 
institutions, a Chapter is not recognizable as a Ma- 
sonic body, by a symbolic Lodge. A Master Mason 
knows technically, nothing of a Royal Arch Mason. 
In the language of the Order, "he may hear him S' 



540 EXPULSION. 

to be, but he does not know him so to be," by any 
of the modes of recognition used in Masonry. " Wc 
cannot conceive/' say the Committee of Correspond 
ence of the Grand Lodge of Texas," by what sort 
of legerdemain a Lodge can take cognizance of the 
transactions of a Chapter, an entirely independent 
body."* But Chapters, on the other hand, are neces- 
sarily cognizant of the existence and the proceedings 
of Lodges, for it is out of the Lodges that the Chap- 
ters are constructed. And, if a Master Mason were 
expelled from the rights and privileges of Masonry, 
and if this expulsion were not to be followed by a 
similar expulsion frc m the Chapter, then all Master 
Masons who should meet the expelled Mason in the 
latter body, would be violating the law by holding 
Masonic communication with him. 

Lastly, under the present organization of Masonry, 
Grand Lodges are the supreme Masonic tribunals 
over all Master Masons, but exercise no jurisdiction 
over Chapters, Councils or Encampments. If, there- 
fore, expulsion from either of these bodies involved 
expulsion from the Lodge, then the right of the 
Grand Lodge to hear and determine causes, and to 
regulate the internal concerns of the institution 
would be interfered with, by an authority outside 
of its organization, and beyond its control. 

The law may, therefore, be explicitly stated in 

* Proc. G-. L. of Texas, 1854, vol. ii. p. 47. — " How can a Lodge or aDy 
member of it legally know what has been done in a Chapter?" ... "A mem- 
ber of a Lodge has no right to know on what charges a Royal Arch Mason 
has been tried. Finally, how can a Master Mason only know a Royal Arch 
Mason- as sncb. rt ■^ 1] P' 1 - Tt "'^ 



EXPULSION. 541 

these terms : suspension or expulsion from a Chap- 
ter, Council, or Encampment, does not involve a 
similar sentence from a symbolic Lodge. But sus- 
pension or expulsion from a Lodge, carries with it, 
ex necessitate, suspension or expulsion from every 
higher degree. 



CHAPTER III. 

Etstjrattcn, 

Having, in the two preceding chapters, treated 
of Masonic crimes, and of the. punishments which 
are imposed upon the perpetrators, we are next to 
inquire into the method by which a mason senten- 
ced to any punishment, which temporarily or per- 
manently severs his connection with the Order, may 
be reinstated into any or all of his former rights 
and privileges. 

Restoration, as the reinstatement of an excluded, 
suspended or expelled Mason to his rank in the 
Order, is techinally called, may be the result of 
either one of two entirely distinct processes. It 
may be by an act of clemency on the part of the 
Lodge, or the Grand Lodge, consequent upon, and 
induced by the repentance and reformation of the 
guilty individual. Or it may be by a reversal of 
the sentence of the Lodge, by the Grand Lodge, on 
account of illegality in the trial or injustice in the 
verdict. 

Restoration by the first method, which is ex gratia, 
or, as a favor, is to be granted on petition, while 
restoration by the second method, which is e debito 



RESTORATION. 543 

Justitice, or as a debt of justice, is to be granted on 
appeal. The two methods may, therefore, be briefly 
distinguished as restoration on petition and restora- 
tion on ajjpeal. 

s In the consideration of this subject, each of these 
methods of restoration will require to be occasion- 
ally borne in mind. 

In the case of permanent exclusion, or erasure 
from the roll of the Lodge, the party is placed in a 
peculiar position. He is no longer a member of 
the Lodge, and, unless, on an appeal, he can prove 
that he has been unjustly or unconstitutionally 
stricken from the roll, he can be restored only upon 
petition, and a unanimous acceptance, as in the 
case of any other Mason applying for membership. 
Membership having been justly forfeited, can only 
be recovered under the Regulations of 1721, which 
require one month's notice and unanimous consent. 

Hence, when a member's name is stricken from 
the roll, for non-payment of arrears, he cannot, by 
the mere payment of the indebtedness, recover his 
membership. He acquires, by this payment, a right 
to a clearance and demit, but not to restored mem- 
bership; for the exclusion was not a conditional one, 
dependent on such payment for its termination, but 
peremptory and unconditional. He was stricken 
from the roll, and by that act ceased at once and 
for ever to be a member of the lodge, as much so as 
if lie had demitted. 

In the case of definite suspension, as I have 
already remarked, the termination of the period 



544 RESTOKATION. 

specified in the sentence is a termination, ipso facto, 
of the suspension, and restoration takes place with- 
out any further act on the part of the Lodge. 
Eestoration, on petition or appeal, may take place 
at any time, by a vote of two-thirds of the mem- 
bers, and after due notice given of the intention to 
restore. 

Restoration, from definite suspension, may also 
be made by the Grand Lodge, on appeal, where the 
act of the subordinate Lodge is reversed on account 
of illegality, or wrongful judgment; and such resto- 
ration, of course, annuls the suspension, and restores 
the party to his former position in the Lodge. 

Restoration, from indefinite suspension, may also 
take place in the same way, either on petition or 
appeal. But, in this case, due notice is not abso- 
lutely required of an intention to move for a resto- 
ration, although, as I have already said, courtesy 
should induce the mover to give notice. Of course, 
no restoration, either from definite or indefinite 
suspension, upon petition or appeal, can take place, 
except at a regular meeting; for, as the sentence 
must have been decreed at such meeting, the Masonic 
rule forbids a special meeting to reverse the pro- 
ceedings of a regular one. 

Restoration from expulsion differs from restora- 
tion in the other cases, in several important par- 
ticulars, which; as the subject is now exciting much 
discussion among the Grand Lodges of this country, 
require a careful consideration. 

In the first place it must be borne in mind, that 



RESTORATION. 545 

expulsion completely severs the connection of the 
expelled individual with the fraternity In the lan- 
guage of Dr. Oliver, " his Masonic status, vanishes, 
and he disappears from the scene of Masonry, as 
completely as the ripple of the sea subsides after 
the stately ship has passed over it. 77 * This condi- 
tion must be constantly remembered, because it has 
an important influence on the effects of restoration. 
On an application for restoration by petition, as 
a favor, on the showing that the party has repented 
and reformed, that he has abandoned the criminal 
course of conduct for which he was expelled, and 
is now leading an irreproachable life, the Grand 
Lodge may ex gratia, in the exercise of its clemency, 
extend a pardon and remit the penalty, so far as it 
refers to expulsion from the Order. But in this 
case, as there is no question of the original justice 
of the sentence nor of the legality of the trial, the 
pardon of the Grand Lodge will not and cannot 
restore the brother to membership in the Lodge. 
And the reason of this is plain. The act of the 
Lodge is admitted to have been legal. Now, while 
this act dissevered his connection with the Order, 
it also cancelled his membership in the Lodge. He 
is no longer a member either of the Order or of the 
Lodge. The Grand Lodge may restore him to the 
former, it may restore him to his rights as a Mason, 

* Institutes of Masonic Jurisprudence, p. 258: London, 1859. Of this 
work, which has just been issued by Bro. Spencer, I regret that I have re- 
ceived from the publisher a copy, only while composing these last chapters. 
Could I have had earlier access to it, it would have afforded mo much valu- 
able information on the subject of English Masonic law. 



546 RESTORATION. 

but it must be as an unaffiliated one, because, hav 
ing by this very act of clemency, admitted that he 
legally and constitutionally lost his membership, it 
cannot compel the Lodge to admit him again, con- 
trary to its wishes, into membership, for no man can 
be admitted a member of a Lodge, without the 
unanimous consent of all present. Nor can the 
Grand Lodge interfere with this inherent right of 
every Lodge to select its own members. Let it be 
thoroughly understood that the incompetence of the 
Grand Lodge, in this case, to restore to member- 
ship, is founded on the admission that the original 
sentence was a just one, the trial legally conducted, 
the testimony sufficient and the punishment not 
oppressive. The Grand Lodge says, in an instance 
like this, to the petitioner, " We are induced bj 
your present reform to pardon your past conduct 
and to restore you once more to the Order; but, as- 
you were ju?tly expelled from your Lodge, and are 
no longer a member, we have no power to force you 
upon it. We give you, however, by a restoration 
to your Masonic status, the privilege that all other 
unaffiliated Masons possess, of applying to it by peti- 
tion for admission, with the understanding that you 
must, as in all such cases, submit to the ordeal of a 
ballot, but with the result of that ballot we cannot 
interfere." 

But, in the case of a restoration by appeal, a dif- 
ferent condition of things ensues. Here there is no 
petition for pardon of an offence committed — no 
admission of the legality of trial — no acknowled,o: 



RESTORATION. 547 

ment of the justice of the sentence inflicted. But, 
on the contrary, all of these are in the very terms 
of the appeal denied. The claim is not for clemency, 
but for justice — not for a remission of deserved pun- 
ishment, but for a reversal of an iniquitous sentence; 
and the demand is, that this reversal shall not be de- 
creed ex gratia, as a favor, but debito justitice, by 
virtue of a claim justly established. Now, in this 
case it is evident that the rules governing the resto- 
ration must entirely diifer from those which con- 
trolled the former class of cases. 

The principle which I lay down on this subject is, 
that when a Lodge has wrongfully deprived a Ma- 
son of his membership, by expulsion from the Order, 
the Grand Lodge, on his appeal, if it shall find that 
the party is innocent, that wrong has been inflicted, 
that by the sentence the laws of the institution, as 
well as the rights of the individual, have been vio- 
lated, may, on his appeal, interpose and redress the 
wrong, not only by restoring him to his rights and 
privileges as a Mason, but also to membership in the 
Lo^ge. This, it seems to me, is the true principle, 
not only of Masonic law, but also of equity. If a 
brother be innocent, he must be restored to every- 
thing of _ whici an unjust sentence had deprived him — ■ 
to membership in his Lodge, as well as to the gene- 
ral rights of Masonry. I think that I was the first 
to contend for this principle as a doctrine of Ma- 
sonic law, although it had always been recognized 
by the Grand Lodge of England, and in this country 
by that of South Carolina. At first there was a 



548 RESTORATION. 

very general opposition to the doctrine, and the 
grounds of objection were singularly based on a 
total misapprehension of that article in the Regula- 
tions of 1721, which declares that " no one can be 
admitted a member of any particular Lodge without 
the unanimous consent of all the members of that 
Lodge then present" — a provision which the same 
article asserts to be " an inherent privilege,not sub- 
ject to dispensation." 

I have said that the application of this regulation 
to the doctrine of restoration from expulsion, by ap- 
peal, is a total misapprehension of its meaning, be- 
cause the question is not, in these cases, as to the 
admission of a new member, with which it is not 
denied that the Grand Lodge cannot interfere, but 
whether one who is already a member shall be di- 
vested of his franchiscd rights of membership wi th- 
ou t cause. 

It is admitted on all sides that where the restora- 
tion is made on petition, simply as an act of cle- 
mency, in which case the forfeiture of membership 
is acknowledged to have been justly and legally in- 
curred, the Grand Lodge cannot restore to member- 
ship, because by its act of clemency it admits that 
the brother is not a member of the Lodge, and it 
cannot intrude him on the Lodge without its con- 
sent. I say that it admits this by its act of cle- 
mency, because if he were not justly deprived of his 
membership, there would have been no room for 
clemency. Pardon is for the guilty, not for the 
innocent. 



RESTORATION. 549 

But whea it is proved that the trial was illegally 
conducted — that the testimony was insufficient — 
that the offence was not proved — that the brother 
was innocent, and therefore unjustly condemned — 
who will dare to say that a Lodge may thus, by an 
arbitrary exercise of power, inflict this grievous 
wrong on a brother, and that the Grand Lodge has 
not the prerogative, as the supreme protector of 
the rights of the whole fraternity, to interpose its 
superior power, and give back to injured innocence 
all that iniquity or injustice would have deprived it 
of? Who will dare to say, in the face of the great 
principles of justice and equity, that though inno- 
cent, a Mason shall receive but a portion of the re- 
dress to which he is entitled? — and that he shall 
be sent from the interposing shield of the supreme 
authority and highest court of justice of the Order, 
not protected in his innocence and restored to his 
rights, but as an innocent man, sharing in the 
punishment which should only be awarded to the 
guilty? I, for one, never have subscribed, and 
ne\cr will subscribe, to a doctrine so full of arbi- 
trary oppression and injustice, and which, if it 
really constituted Masonic law, would be to every 
honest man the crying reproach of the institution. 

I have said that when, several years ago, I first 
advanced this doctrine of the competency of the 
Grand Lodge to grant an unconditional restoration 
to membership, it met with very general condemna- 
tion. Here and there a solitary voice was heard 
in its defence, but officially it was almost univer* 



550 RESTORATION. 

sally condemned as an infringement on the rights 
of Lodges. The rights of members do not seem, on 
those occasions, to have been at all considered.* 

But the doctrine is now gaining ground. In 
1857, the Grand Lodge of Missouri carried it into 
practical operation, and ordered that one of its 



* The first support that was given to these views was by my distinguished 
friend, Albert PiKa, whose remarks on the question, in his report in 1854, 
to the Grand Lodge of Arkansas, I cannot refrain from citing in a note. 

"If, iu case of trial aad conviction, suspension or expulsion from the 
rights and benefits of Masonry is adj.idged, that includes, as a part of itself, 
suspension or expul-ion from membership. If, on appeal, the Grand Lodge 
reverses the decision of the subordinate, on the ground of error in proceeding, 
or innocence, that reversal annuls the judgment, and it is as if never pro- 
nounced— non avenu: consequently it has no effect whatever — and, in 
Masonic law, the matter stands as if no such judgment had ever been ren- 
dered. The accused is not restored to the Older, nor to membership. The 
effect of reversal is, that he was never suspended or expelled at all, in law : 
and there is no power in the Grand Lodge, either by the judgment or by 
previous legislation, to give such judgment of leversal any other or less 
effect. 

" If the Grand Lodge tries the case de novo, and adjudges the party inno- 
cent, of course it must annul the judgment of the subordinate Lodge in toto ; 
and if the suspension from membership resulted solely from that judgment 
there never was, in law, any suspension. 

" If it merely decides that the proceedings were erroneous, it should send 
the case back for another trial ; if it decides that the testimony was insuf- 
ficient to establish guilt, it should reverse arid annul, and direct the proceed- 
ings to be dismissed. In either case the judgment is annulled ; but in one 
case the proceeding continues, and in the other it does not. 

" But the Grand Lodge may find such a case as that the offence was pro- 
ven, and the proceedings were regular, except as to the judgment, which 
should, have been limited to suspension from membership. In that case it 
may partially reverse and reduce the sentence to its proper dimensions. It 
can only do that when the offence charged, or a minor one included in it, is 
established, but the punishment of suspension or expulsion from the rights 
and privileges of Masonry cannot be inflicted for such an offence. 

" These principles of Masonic law seem to us so palpably plain and cor- 
rect as to need no argument ; and if violated anywhere, we hope to see the 
ancient Landmarks set up again in this respect." 



RESTORATION. 551 

Lodges should restore an expelled brother to mem- 
bership, under penalty of arrest of charter. 

In the same year, the doctrine was virtually in- 
dorsed by the Grand Lodge of Kentucky, in its ap- 
probation of the course of its Grand Master, in 
deciding that a brother who appealed from expul- 
sion, and after a new trial, had been acquitted, 
should be restored to membership, notwithstanding 
the opposition of the Lodge to his re-admission. 

And lastly, in 1858, the Grand Lodge of Missis- 
sippi has entered into the earnest consideration of 
the question ; and an able report has been made to 
that body by Bro. G. M. Hillyer, one of the most 
enlightened Masons in America, who has eloquently 
and manfully supported the hitherto unpopular doc- 
trine for which I have been so long contending. 
From this eloquent, as well as logical report, I shall 
cite a single paragraph, with which to conclude the 
subject. 

Speaking of the appeal made by a brother expel- 
led from the rights and privileges of Masonry, and 
concomitantly from membership in his Lodge, Bro. 
Hillyer says : " The Grand Lodge perhaps acquits 
him, and then it is, under the present system, that 
his punishment commences. Whatever the final 
verdict and decision, the accused brother has to 
undergo a penalty. If innocent, the smiting is not 
to be with as many stripes, it is true ; but why with 
any ? What punishment has an innocent man de- 
served ? If he is in the right, and his accusers have 
been in the wrong, what justice is there in saying 



552 RESTORATION. 

that lie shall only be deprived of half his privileges ? 
Why deprive him of any in that case ? Why punish 
the innocent ? Why, above all, have a law that 
makes the very tribunal that vindicates the inno- 
cence of the accused, accompany that vindication 
with punishment? There is no justice, there can be 
no expediency in such a course."* 

The time will yet come, I am sure, and the expec- 
tation is made more certain by such aid, when the 
universal suffrage of the fraternity will confess the 
law to be as I have announced it, that in case of 
unjust expulsion, the Grand Lodge may restore an 
innocent brother, not only to the rights and privi- 
leges of Masonry, but also to membership in his 
Lodge. 

Lastly, a Grand Lodge may restore in part, and 
not in whole. It may mitigate the amount of pun- 
ishment, as being too severe or disproportioned to 
the offence. t It may reduce expulsion to suspen- 
sion, and indefinite to definite suspension, or it may 
abridge the period of the last. But all these are 
matters of justice and expediency, to be judged of 
by the Grand Lodge, according to the particular 
circumstances of each case. 

* Proc. G. L. of Miss., 1858, p. 69. 

f Noxiat posna par esto — " let the punishment be equal to the offence," 
is a maxim of strict justice, common to the Masonic, as well as to every code 
cf law ; and hence an oppressive and disproportioned penalty affords good 
ground for an appeal. 



CHAPTEK IV. 
$ena! Sur tstrtcttou* 

The penal jurisdiction of Masonic bodies is that 
jurisdiction which is exercised by them for the in- 
vestigation of offences and the award of punish- 
ment. The subject is properly divided into two 
sections — the one relating to the penal jurisdiction 
of Grand Lodges, the other to that of Subordinate 
Lodges. The penal jurisdiction of Grand Lodges 
has already been fully considered under the head 
of the ''Judicial Powers" of those bodies, so that it 
only remains here to inquire into the penal jurisdic- 
tion which is exercised by subordinate Lodges. 

The penal jurisdiction of a subordinate Lodge is 
both geographical and personal. 

The geographical jurisdiction of a Lodge is that 
penal jurisdiction which it exercises over the terri- 
tory within which it is situated, and extends to all 
the Masons, affiliated and unaffiliated, who live 
within that territory. 

As to the local extent of this jurisdiction, it is 
universally supposed to extend to a point equally 
distant from the adjacent Lodge. Thus, if two 
Lodges are situated within twenty miles of each 

24 



554 PENAL JUBISDICTION. 

other, the geographical jurisdiction of eacli will ex- 
tend ten miles from its seat in the direction of the 
other Lodge. But in this case both Lodges must be 
situated in the same State, and hold their warrants 
from the same Grand Lodge ; for it is a settled 
point of Masonic law that no Lodge can extend 
its geographical jurisdiction beyond the territorial 
limits of its own Grand Lodge. 

Thus, if of two Lodges, twenty miles distant from 
each other, one is situated in Georgia, five miles 
from the boundary line between that State and 
Alabama, and the other in Alabama, fifteen miles 
from the same line, then the jurisdiction of the 
Georgia Lodge will not cross over the boundary, 
but will be restricted to the five miles which are 
between it and the line, while the fifteen miles which 
are between that line and the Alabama Lodge, will 
be within the penal jurisdiction of the latter body. 

The personal jurisdiction of a Lodge is that penal 
jurisdiction which it exercises over its own mem- 
bers, wherever they may be situated. No matter 
how far a Mason may remove from the Lodge of 
which he is a member, his allegiance to that Lodge 
is indefeasible, so long as he continues a member, 
and it may exercise penal jurisdiction over him. 

With this view of the nature of the two kinds of 
penal jurisdiction exercised by Lodges, we are pre- 
pared to investigate the practical application of the 
subject. 

1. A Lodge exercises penal jurisdiction over all 
its members. The old Charges require every Mason 



PENAL JURISDICTION. 555 

to "stand to the award and determination of the 
Lodge f that is to say, the Lodge of which he is a 
member, and the rights and privileges, as well as the 
Masonic protection secured by such membership, 
carry with them a corresponding duty of allegiance 
and obedience. This doctrine is not left to mere 
deduction, but is supported by the ritual law, which 
imposes on every Mason, in the most solemn man- 
ner, an obligation to abide by and obey the by-laws, 
rules and regulations of the Lodge, of which he is a 
member. Membership in a Lodge can only be 
voided by death, demission, or expulsion, and hence 
neither it nor the jurisdiction which it communi- 
cates is lost by a change of residence. 

The Master of a Lodge is the only one of its 
members who is not amenable to the jurisdiction of 
the Lodge. There is no principle of Masonic law 
more completely settled by the almost universal con- 
sent of the fraternity, than that which declares that 
a Master cannot be tried by his Lodge. It may be- 
come his accuser, but to the Grand Lodge alone is 
he amenable for any offence that he may commit 
while in office. 

In like manner, the Grand Master, while holding 
that office, is not within the penal jurisdiction of 
the Lodge, of which he is a member. 

2. A Lodge exercises penal jurisdiction over all 
affiliated Masons, although not its members, who 
live within its territorial limits. A, for instance, 
being a member of a Lodge in New York, but living 
in the vicinity of a Lodge in Florida, is amenable 



556 PENAL JURISDICTION. 

to the jurisdiction of both bodies ; to the former 
by personal jurisdiction, to the latter by geographi- 
cal. And this is a wise provision of the law ; for 
A, living at a great distance from his own Lodge, 
might conduct himself in so disorderly a manner, 
violating the proprieties of life, and transgressing 
habitually the moral law, as to bring great reproach 
upon the institution of which he is a member. Now, 
his distance from his own Lodge would, in all 
probability, prevent that body from acquiring 
any knowledge of the evil course he is pursuing, 
or if cognizant of it by report, it might find great 
difficulty in proving any charge based upon such 
report. 

The Order, therefore, under the great law of self- 
preservation, commits to the Lodge in Florida, in 
whose vicinity he is living, and whose good fame is 
most affected by his conduct, the prerogative of 
trying and punishing him ; so that the world shall 
not say that a bad Mason can lead a disorderly life, 
and violate the law, under the very eyes of his con- 
gregated brethren, and yet receive no reproof for 
his criminality. And if expulsion is the result of 
such trial, that expulsion, by the Lodge in Florida, 
carries with it expulsion from his own Lodge in 
New York ; for, if the premises are not denied that 
the Lodge in. Florida can rightfully exercise penal 
jurisdiction, then the conclusion follows, that that 
expulsion must be legal. But expulsion annuls all 
Masonic status and obliterates Masonic existence, 
and the Mason, whoever he may be, that has been 



PENAL JURISDICTION. 557 

legally expelled by one Lodge, can never receive 
admission into another. 

The appeal in such a case will be, not to the 
Grand Lodge of New York, but to that of Florida, 
for that body alone can investigate matters or re- 
dress grievances arising within its own territory, 
and in one of its own subordinates. 

3. Lastly, a Lodge may exercise penal jurisdic- 
tion over all unaffiliated Masons living within its 
territorial limits. This provision of Masonic law is 
founded on the same prudent principle of self-pre- 
servation as the former. An unaffiliated Mason 
must not be permitted, for want of jurisdiction over 
him, to claim his connection with the Order, and 
yet, by an irregular course of life, to bring discredit 
on it. The jurisdiction must exist somewhere, 
which will remove such an evil, and vindicate the 
institution ; and nowhere can it be more safely or 
appropriately deposited than in the Lodge which is 
nearest to his residence, and which must conse- 
quently have the best opportunity of observing and 
judging of his conduct. 



CHAPTER V. 
£H uso n U Et t nix. 

It is the duty of a judge, says the great Koman 
orator, in every cause to seek for truth.* This is 
the great, the only object of a Masonic trial, and 
hence, in such a trial, no advantage is ever permitted 
to be taken of those legal and verbal technicalities, 
the use of which, in profane courts, so often enable 
the guilty to escape. This great principle of Ma- 
sonic law must never be forgotten in the manage- 
ment of a trial. Every part of the investigation is 
to be directed with a single view to the acquisition 
of truth. Masonic trials are therefore to be con- 
ducted in the simplest and least technical method, 
that will preserve at once the rights of the Order 
and of the accused, and which will enable the Lodge 
to obtain a thorough knowledge of all the facts 
in the case. The rules by which such trials are 
governed are few and easily understood. 

1. The preliminary step in every trial is the ac- 
cusation. This, in Masonic language, is called the 
charge. 

* " Judicis est, semper in causis verum sequi." — Cic. de Off. ii. 14 



MASONIC TRIALS. ' 559 

The charge should always be made in writing, 
signed by the accuser, delivered to the Secretary, 
and read by that officer at the next regular com- 
munication of the Lodge. The accused should then 
be furnished with an attested copy of the charge, 
and be at the same time informed of the time and 
place appointed by the Lodge for the trial. 

In reference to these preliminary steps, it is neces- 
sary to make several remarks. 

The charge should set forth the offence with 
clearness and certainty, and hence it must distinctly 
specify the nature of the offence ; and if confined to 
a single transaction, the time and place of its com- 
mission should be named. A general charge, for 
instance, of " unmasonic conduct" should also specify 
the particular nature of the conduct which is said to 
be unmasonic ; for no one can be expected to 
answer to so general an accusation, nor to be pre- 
pared with evidence to rebut that of which he is 
ignorant. No man, in a legal investigation, should 
be taken by surprise ; but there is no more certain 
mode of doing so than to call upon him to answer 
to an indefinite charge, the particulars of which are 
only to be made known at the moment of trial. 

The charge should be delivered to the Secretary, 
and by him read to the Lodge, because it thus be- 
comes the property of the Lodge, and is not sub- 
jected, as it would be, if retained in the possession 
of the accuser, to alterations or amendments, which 
would alter its character, either in word, or spirit. 
A charge having been once made, should retain its 



560 MASONIC TEIALS. 

original form, and cannot be amended, except with 
the consent of the Lodge and the knowledge of the 
accused. For a similar reason the charge should 
always be made in writing. An oral charge must 
never be received. 

It must be read at a regular communication, be- 
cause it is to be presumed that at such communica- 
tions all the members, and among them the accused, 
will be present, whereas the Lodge might be taken 
by surprise if a charge were preferred at a special 
communication, which is often thinly attended, and 
at which no new business of importance is expected 
to be transacted. 

Any Master Mason maybe the accuser of another r 
but a profane cannot be permitted to prefer charges 
against a Mason. Yet, if circumstances are known 
to a profane upon which charges ought to be predi- 
cated, a Master Mason may avail himself of that in- 
formation, and out of it frame an accusation, to be 
presented to the Lodge. And such accusation will 
be received and investigated, although remotely de- 
rived from one who is not a member of the Order. 

It is not necessary that the accuser should be a 
member of the same Lodge. It is sufficient if he is 
an affiliated Mason. I say an affiliated Mason ; for 
it is generally held, and I believe correctly, that an 
unaffiliated Mason is no more competent to prefer 
charges than a profane. 

2. If the accused is living beyond the geographi- 
cal jurisdiction of the Lodge, the charges should be 
communicated to him by means of a letter through 



MASONIC TRIALS. 501 

the post-office, and a reasonable time should be 
allowed for his answer, before the Lodge proceeds 
to trial. But if his residence be unknown, or if it 
be impossible to hold communication with him, the 
Lodge may then proceed to trial — care being had 
that no undue advantage be taken of his absence, 
and that the investigation be as full and impartial 
as the nature of the circumstances will permit. 

3. The trial must commence at a regular com- 
munication, for reasons which have already been 
stated ; but having commenced, it may be continued 
at special communications, called for that purpose ; 
for, if it was allowed only to be continued at regu- 
lar meetings, which take place but once a month, 
the long duration of time occupied would materially 
tend to defeat the ends of justice. And here no 
one can complain of surprise ; for the inception of 
the trial having taken place at a regular communica- 
tion, all the subsequent special communications would 
be considered only as continuations of the same 
meeting. 

4. The Lodge must be opened in the highest de- 
gree to which the accuser has attained, and the ex- 
aminations of all witnesses must take place in the 
presence of the accused and the accuser, if they de- 
sire it.* It is competent for the accused to employ 
counsel for the better protection of his interests, 

* The Grand Lodge of New York prescribes that the trial shall be con- 
ducted by a committee, called a commission. A few other Grand Lodges 
have, I believe, the same rule. It is of course competent for a Grand Lodge 
to make such a regulation, but I am of opinion that it is a better course foi 
the Lodge itself to conduct the trial, and this is the more usual course. 

24* 



562 MASONIC TRIALS. 

provided such counsel is a Master Mason. But if 
the counsel be a member of the Lodge, he forfeits, 
by his professional advocacy of the accused, the 
right to vote at the final decision of the question. 

5. The final decision of the charge, and the rend- 
ering of the verdict, whatever be the rank of the 
accused, must always be made in a Lodge opened on 
the third degree ; and at the time of such decision, 
both the accuser and the accused, as well as his 
counsel, if he have any, should withdraw from. the 
Lodge. 

6. It is a general and an excellent rule, that no 
visitors shall be permitted to be present during a 
trial. 

7. The testimony of Master Masons is usually 
taken on their honor, as such. That of others 
should be by affidavit, or in such other manner as 
both the accuser and accused may agree upon. 

8. The testimony of profanes, or of those who are 
of a lower degree than the accused, is to be taken by 
a committee and reported to the Lodge, or, if con- 
venient, by the whole Lodge, when closed and sit- 
ting as a committee. But both the accused and 
the accuser have a right to be present on such 
occasions. 

There can be no doubt that profanes are compe- 
tent witnesses in Masonic trials. If their testimony 
was rejected, the ends of justice would, in many in- 
stances, be defeated ; for it frequently happens that 
the most important evidence of a fact is only to be 
obtained from such persons. The great object of 



s MASONIC TRIALS. 563 

the trial is to investigate the truth and to adminis- 
ter justice, and no method should be rejected by 
which those objects can be attained. Again : there 
may be cases in which the accused is able to prove 
his innocence only by the testimony of profanes ; 
and surely no one would be willing to deprive him 
of that means of defence. But if the evidence of 
profanes for the accused is to be admitted, on ac- 
count of its importance and necessity, by a parity 
of reasoning, it should be admitted when and in be- 
half of the accuser. The testimony which is good 
in one case must be good in the other. 

9. When the trial is concluded, the accuser and 
the accused must retire, and the Master will then 
put the question of guilty, or not guilty, to the 
Lodge. Masonic authorities differ as to the mode 
in which the vote is to be taken. In England, it is 
done by a show of hands. The Grand Lodges of 
Ohio and South Carolina require it to be by ballot, 
and that of California by each brother, as his name 
is called, rising and giving his answer " in a distinct 
and audible manner." I confess, that in this di- 
versity of authorities, I am inclined to be in favor 
of the vote by ballot, as the independence of opinion 
is thus better secured ; for many a man who con- 
scientiously believed in the guilt of the accused, 
might be too timid to express that opinion openly. 
Not less, I think, than two-thirds of the votes should 
be required to declare the accused guilty. A bare 
majority is hardly sufficient to divest a brother of 
his good character, and render him subject to what 



564 MASONIC TRIALS. 

may perhaps be an ignominious punishment. But 
on tins subject the authorities differ. 

10. If the verdict is guilty, the Master must then 
put the question as to the nature and extent of the 
punishment to be inflicted, beginning with expulsion 
and proceeding, if necessary, to indefinite suspen- 
sion and public and private reprimand. To inflict 
expulsion or suspension, a vote of two-thirds of 
those present is required, but for a mere reprimand, 
a majority will be sufficient. The votes on the 
nature of the punishment should be viva voce, or 
rather, according to Masonic usage, by a show of 
hands. 

Trials in a Grand Lodge are to be conducted on 
the same general principles ; but here, in conse- 
quence of the largeness of the body, and the incon- 
venience which would result from holding the 
examinations in open Lodge, and in the presence of 
all the members, it is more usual to appoint a com- 
mittee, before whom the case is tried, and upon 
whose full report of the testimony the Grand Lodge 
bases its action. And the forms of trial in such 
committees must conform, in all respects, to the 
general usage already detailed. 



I K D E X 



Advancement <x Candidates 
Affiliation, Right of - 
Appeal from the Lodge 

" Master - 
" Eight of - - • - 



- 163 

198 

- 242 
239 

28, 238 



Balloting for Candidates - 
" Advancement - 
" Membership 

Book of Law indispensable in a Lodge 

Burial, Right of 

By-laws of Lodges - 



Candidates, Law relating to 
" Qualifications of - 

Censure 

Change, none allowed in Landmarks 

Chaplain, Grand 

Charges, Ancient, Installation 
" Ancient, at Makings - 
" approved, in 1722 - 

Committees for Business - 
" on Character 

Congregating Masons in Lodges 

Consecration of Lodges 

Constitution of Lodges 

Constitutions of York - 

of Edward HE 

Crimes, Masonic - 



134 

- 167 
197 

- 33 
249 

- 327 



81 

31,83 
516 

38 

479 

49 

50 

54 

401 

131 

25 

288 

293 

42 

47 

499 



566 



INDEX. 



Deacons of a Lodge og^ 

Grand 485 

Dedication of Lodges 290 

Degrees, Divi.-ion into 18 

232 

469 

21 

469 

194 



Demission, Right of - 
Deputy Grand Master - 
Dispensations - 
District Deputy Grand Master 
Dues, Payment of 



E. 



Elections 

Eligibility for Office 
Entered Apprentices • 
Equality of Masons - 
Eunuchs - -"'.■ 
Examination of Visitors 
Exclusion 
Expulsion - 



- 402 
193 

- 157 

34 

- 113 
211 

327, 519 
535 



Fellow Crafts 

Fines not a Masonic Punishment 

Free-born .... 



172 
515 
121 



G. 



God, belief in - 
Gothic Constitutions 
Government of the Craft - 

" of Lodges - 

Grand Lodge, Nature of - 
Definition of 



Powers of - 
Legislative Powers of 
Judicial Powers of 
Executive Powers of 
Officers of - 



Grand Master 



Prerogatives of 



32 

42 
20 
26 
407 
420 
425 
426 
435 
439 
445 
446 
453 



INDEX. 567 

Grand Master may convene Grand Lodge - - - - 453 

" " may Preside over the Craft 21,454 

" " his Right of Visitation 455 

" " his Right of Appointment 456 

" " may cast Two Votes 457 

" " may grant Dispensations -...-. 457 

" " may authorize new Lodges • 461 

' " may make Masons at sight 462 

" " may arrest a Charter 466 

" " no Appeal from his Decision 466 

" " who succeeds in his absence 468 



Idiots cannot be Initiated 117 

Illiterate persons should not be Initiated 114 

Installation of Officers 294 

Interference of one Lodge with smother 30, 149 

J. 

Junior Deacon 386 

Junior Warden 370 

Jurisdiction of a Lodge 553 

" Personal 554 

" Geographical 553 

L. 

Landmarks -- 15 

Lecturer, Grand 480 

Authority of ... 483 

Qualifications of 483 

Legend of Third Degree, a Landmark 19 

Lodge, nature of 279 

" under Dispensation, Organization of 281 

Rights of 299 

under "Warrant, Organization of 286 

* " " Powers of 308 

M. 

Madmen cannot be Initiated - .... 117 

Marshal, Grand 486 



568 INDEX. 

Master Mason 179 

Master of a Lodgs 343 

'* " " who is Eligible 352 

" " " Qualifications of 3d0 

" " " by whom succeeded - - - - - S64 
Master, Grand. (See Grand Master.) 

Membership, Right of - - - - 180 

Double 187 

'< Honorary 189 

N. 

Name of Lodge 322 

Notice of Petitions 132 

0. 

Office, how Terminated 311 

Officers of a Lodge 337 

" " " elected Annually 339 

" " " cannot Resign 311 

" " " Installation of 341 

Operative Masonry 37 

P. 

Past Masters - 253 

Actual and Virtual 261 

Petition of Candidate 122 

a Second Time 152 

" for Membership 196 

Provincial Grand Master 471 

Punishments, Masonic - - - 514 

Q. 

Qualifications of Candidates - - - - 84 

" Internal 84 

" External - 85 

" Moral 90 

" Physical 90 

« as to Sex 96 

" as to Age 97 

* as to Bodily conformation 100 

" Mental 114 

« Political .11? 



INDEX. 



569 



R. 

Recognition, modes of, a Landmark - - 17 

Regulations of 1G63 48 

of 1703 52 

of 1717 53 

of 1720 - .... 54 

of 1721 - 63 

Rejection of Candidates for Initiation 149 

" " " Advancement ... - 167 

Relief, Right of 222 

Representation in Grand Lodge - - 320 

Reprimand, Private 518 

Public olS 

Restoration 542 

Resurrection, belief in, a Landmark 32 

S. 

Secrecy of the Institution, a Landmark S3 

Secretary of a Lodge 38J 

Grand - 477 

Senior Warden - .+70 

Sight, Masons made at 23, 462 

Slaves cannot be Initiated 119 

Speculative Masonry 37 

Stewards of a Lodge 389 

" Grand 489 

Succession to the Chair 364 

Suspension, Definite - - - ' - - - - - - -528 

" Indefinite .-.--.-.. 532 

Sword Bearer, Grand 488 

T. 

Taxing power 331 

Tiler of a Lodge 391 

" Grand 491 

Tiling, necessity of, a Landmark 27 

Transfer of Petition to another Lodge ... - 151 

Treasurer of a Lodge 379 

Grand 475 

Trial, form of 558 



570 INDEX. 

u. 

Unaffiliated Masons --------- 2co 

" Rights of 275 

Unwritten Law of Masonry 13 

V. 

Visitors to be Examined --------- 30 

Visit, Right of 23,203 

" how forfeited - 208 

Voting, Right of - 193 

Vouching, Right of - 21G 

W. 

Wardens of a Lodge ---------- 370 

Grand • '73 

Warrant of Constitution 312 

Withdrawal of Petitions 130 

Worshipful Master 343 

Written Law of Masonry - 40 

Y. 

\;jrk Constitutions -- --- . • . « • & 



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